Surviving NJ

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I had a mammogram today, and they found a lump in my right breast. I'm not in a total state of panic, as I have cystic breasts. I went through this about 5 years ago when they found a lump in my left breast. I was called back and they rechecked....and the next year, and the next year it happened again. It hasn't changed size or shape, and the left one has the all clear.

Today, they found a lump in my right breast. The left one is still where it is, no change, but the right one is new. She took extra films, and they'll have a better answer for me after the doctor sees the films.

I have mixed emotions on this. On one hand, I'm not overly nervous, because my brain thinks it's just a repeat of what happened with my left breast.

On the other hand, it's struck me and my heart is in my throat. How can you not be scared when they tell you they've found a lump in your breast. My grandmother lost both her breasts to breast cancer. I went shopping after I heard and spent a little too much. I didn't eat though, so that was a choice I made. My normal reactions to a very stressful situation: shop or eat. I didn't want to go off track, since I've been doing so well with clean eating. Trust me, Cold Stone Creamery was calling my name, but I turned to Fashion Bug instead.

Do I have a right to be nervous? Of course I do, but if I say it out loud, am I over reacting to something that hasn't happend? Have you been there?

Ironically, my sister is waiting on some test results this week as well. It's taken forever for her to get her results, and here it's my turn to wait.

Because I couldn't help myself, I went and looked at pictures of women who have gotten a mastectomy. It's on my mind....are my breasts safe for another year? What if they aren't? I'm not ready to part with them, or part of them. They're mine...don't take them away.

Mixed emotions. Like I said, not a total panic, but a quiet sadness that I have to sit and think about this for awhile. It brings me back to the first time I heard I had a lump in my left breast, and I was left wondering...soon. I'll have my answer soon. It will be okay. I know it will....I still feel sad...just sort of want to cry, but nothing to cry at right now.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 04:56 PM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Are you kidding me? Yesterday we have sweatshirt weather, and today they're calling for snow showers? Yikes, I'm so ready for spring, doesn't any body realize that? Come on, let's get on with the warm weather all ready!

Okay, okay, at least it isn't severe weather. Did you see the blanket of snow they out out midwest? The flooding in Missouri is scary. The pictures are just heartbreaking. I guess I can't complain when we're just getting snow showers, and others are being pounded. I'm just itching for spring so badly.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:21 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Do you have a small business? One of my blogs is a small business blog over at BizMarkTech.com and it talks to small business beginners. I cover everything from business plans, to ideas, customer service and even topics like employee performance evaluation, and different software products worth looking at.

I finally started syndicating it as well to try and build up a little bit more exposure. I was thrilled when the Forbes blog network contacted me and asked me to join their network. It told me I was doing something right, even if it didn't have a lot of traffic at this point. HP also contacted me about my blog, and that was another thing that left me feeling good. If you haven't checked it out, please feel free to. 

I actually have multiple blogs, one on entertainment, one on travel, another on health and wellness, a business blog and even a couple more! I hope to see you over at BizMarkTech.com. 

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:16 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

My sister is waiting on some important tests. Its' been WELL OVER a week now, and she still hasn't heard anything. They have to know how hard this wait is. She tried calling yesterday, but the office was closed for Good Friday. It's so frustrating waiting on a phone call, and you don't know what they're going to say.

Is it no news is good news, or it's just taking awhile to get the answers? Nobody knows at this point, so hopefully Monday or Tuesday we'll FINALLY get an answer. 

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:11 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

It's time to organize my office. My papers and organizers, along with sticky notes are spread out all around me, and what was once a nice tidy rectangle area of sort, is turning into an ever expanding circle. I have shelf and drawer space, but because I work on multiple projects at once, I tend to keep things out so I can see them.

Do I need more room? It's not like I need office space Connecticut sized, but maybe a little more office space in my New Jersey living room, where my office sits. I think if I take the time to find a better organization system, I won't keep expanding.

I did see small offices open in Lebanon, but my living room is working just fine for now.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:07 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

We're going to see Drillbit Taylor today. I'm taking a teenager, so it's the perfect kind of movie. Of course in the write up, it got a D, which isn't promising, but that means it didn't appeal to the movie critic. It will probably appeal in just the right way to a 13 year old.

Do you follow reviews, and at what point do you decide not to see a movie based on a review? I really prefer user reviews over critic reviews, because there have been many times we enjoyed a movie that got panned. A recent example was "Fool's Gold". We really liked that, but it also got a D.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 07:57 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

What could I be talking about? Pollen! It's going to be in the air heavy again soon. If you have allergies, you sense the impending allergy time of the year. I'm on Flonase, so I'm sailing through allergy season now, but my son has a heck of a time. Not only do we have allergy issues in our family, but our cars sit under a tree.

Go ahead, say it..."OH!" Yes, my black car can literally by a yellow green some days when I go outside from all the pollen.  I've thought about getting car covers, but haven't followed through yet.  I guess because the pollen mostly blows off when you drive.

I grew up with a car under a maple tree, and sap used to get on the windshield. That was awful, and a pain to get off!  We could of used covers then!

Regardless of the pollen heading our way, I'm so ready for spring. Bring it on, I'm ready for warmer weather. 

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:02 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Have I turned into a boring middle aged woman? Do I look like a typical lady you'd see in the market, and you'd peg me for one of those people...?

How did this happen? I mean, sure I know how it happens, but I tried to keep life interesting. I was the friend that had the great stories, because I lived them. I was the person who was charismatic and brought energy to a room.

I'm sitting here realizing I've hit midlife..is this my crisis?  

Is that it? I mean, I guess I'm okay being pegged as "nice", but am I plain now? Dear God, how did this hapen? Where did my pizazz go?  Where's my sass? *sigh*

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 02:55 PM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I'm sitting in the sun room minding my own business. The dogs were happily slumbering in the sunshine, and I was sitting on a recliner with my vegetable soup and some clean chips. It was a soothing experience, and I was enjoying the warmer temps in the sunroom today...

until I blindly reached down in my bowl and grabbed a few chip pieces. Only something started to taste weird, like really nasty. I spit out the chips and looked down at a bug. :( A big ole stinky stink bug found his way into my chips. I was so grossed out. Those stupid bugs are going to be back int the spring, and I guess a few of them are here a little early. How he got in there, I don't know, but it was sooooooooo gross!

I got his yuckiness on my tongue, and ran to the sink scraping my tongue, trying to get any residue off of me! Ewwww. I chewed on a stinkin' stink bug. :( Not a happy moment. 

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 04:37 PM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 07:10 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I'm itching for a good spring cleaning. I think next week I'm going to start going through room by room and set things aside for a yardsale, and pass on some things we're not using. It always comes down to things like extra appliances, engraved plaques or books I've been holding onto that I'm not sure what to do with. Hold on to them just in case, or purge and finish it the right way. Honestly, will I go back and read those book? Are they collecting dust, or do I just like the way my bookshelves look loaded with books?

When it comes to clothes, I've got my work cut out for me. Each year I go through things, but right now being between sizes, I'm still holding on. Don't get me wrong, I don't intend on needing my larger sizes much longer, but I don't want to wear tight clothes, so those will have to go once I'm solidly in the smaller sizes.

My son's room is going to challenge. If I let him help, he'll keep everything, and if I don't let him help, he'll be frustrated! He's at that age that he's just getting ready to let go of some of his stuff since he's a teen, but he has a hard time parting with things. Maybe I'll give him the choice if he wants to help or not.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 07:03 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Did you read the report? 1 in 4 teenaged girls has an STD? Yikes, what's wrong with this picture. Sexually active girls and I'm sure a good LACK of protection.

The numbers are astounding, and downright scary. The study was based on over 800 people. What I find interesting is that there's no story written about boys. Is it the same, different, are the numbers drastically different, and how does race and age play into their profiles, they way it does in the female version of the study.

Man, reach out to your kids, and make them understand they need to protect themselves. Even if you're preaching abstinence, you need to let them know that if they should decide to become sexually active, even if you don't condone it, that they should know that there are ways to protect themselves. Knowledge is power people...turning a blind eye, and thinking because you "told your kid" to not be active will be enough, well...just shaking my head.

We teach abstinence, but we also realize that reality says kids will make their own decisions when they reach a certain point. Do you want to hope they learned it somewhere along the way that they can protect themselves? Teach your children...it's important. 

Sad, sad study results.

Source 

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 02:33 PM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Look, there are times we get busy in our lives, and we forget to get the car inspected by the end of the month it's due. It's rare, but it happens. It's not our primary job or concern, but we usually get it done.

 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES however, you know the company who revolves around transportation had to ground 40+ jets, because oops, they....well, let me tell you what the article says...ready for a jaw dropper..."recent admission that it had missed required inspections of some planes for structural cracks".

Here's the kicker, after they were told they missed inspection, they kept flying the planes...with people on them. Nice.

Source 

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 02:14 PM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

In my weight loss quest, I'm now going to my trainer 3x a week. One of the things I've noticed is that my body tends to like this new time better. I was going later in the afternoon, and switched to two earlier appointments, and kept one of my later ones. The earlier appointments, I'm more in the groove! This is good to know. When I rebook in the summer, I'll be keeping these earlier times.

I had to bring in my food journal today, and I've been eating clean for awhile now. I haven't gone off track at all during the challenge I'm part of. I get one cheat meal a week. Exercise at home is a little harder for me to get in though.

In this journey, I've really discovered some inner strength I didn't know I had. It's been a great experience for me.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 02:08 PM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

That's right, my dog has that look in her eyes...you know the one.."I'm special, come stop what you're doing and pay attention to me." Or it could be.."feed me", because she always wants food. Anyway, here she is staring me down, and I'm trying to ignore her for a little bit, because I have some writing to do!

Sigh, she wins...2 minutes, 2 minutes, no more! 

Dog 1, Me 0

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 01:53 PM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I have stainless appliances in my kitchen. We got them when we redid it a few years ago. I was talking to my sister about them, as they were thinking about getting stainless appliances when they redid their kitchen this past summer.

Do you get fingerprints? Oh yeah, and most the time it doesn't bother me, because it has a brushed look of stianless, but everyonce in awhile, you get a glance, and there are tons! Who's not using the handle? There's only a few of us, so I can tell by the size of the handprint, and ahem, my son's footprint who's leaving them! She opted for black appliances instead, since she thought the fingerprints would drive her nuts.

Now imagine if you had chrome door handles, like on your truck I'd be wiping those bad boys down all the time! Of course, they sure do look nice when they are all shined up though! I love a little extra chrome on a motorcycle too, just don't leave those fingerprints behind!

I'm not even going to start on people touching my computer monitor! Oy, step back from the computer screen. 

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 01:48 PM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Glad I decided not to go to the beach yesterday. After a phone call last night, looks like I'll have to take a 2 hour drive on Thursday. Mind you, I took one Friday and Sunday that just passed. Now on Thursday, I get to do a 2 hour drive, and on Friday I have a 1 hour drive also, only to turn around and do another 1 hour drive home. Yep, gets tiring after awhile.  Just the way it goes....

And you wondered why I contemplated taking that long drive yesterday? Had it been the only one I'd be taking for awhile, no problem....but not a reality for me. Last week, I took two  2 hour drives too..and with gas prices racking up, its costly!

Next week I have to drive 2 hours on Thursday, 2 hours on Friday and 2 hours on Monday. :\

Think I'm ready to trade that SUV for better fuel efficiency. :(  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:18 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

There's a piece of me saying I should head to the Jersey shore today and do some picture taking. The other part of me says I don't feel like driving there and back today. I may wait for April or a warmer day, so I can enjoy a drive with the windows down. On the other hand, a Tuesday in March  is pretty quiet, so I'd be able to snap those pics undisturbed.

Decisions, decisions...helpful now, yes....driving a total of 4 hours today (2 hours each way)...no.  

If I go, I need to decide soon, so I can get out of here all ready...maybe my stalling tactics are telling me something. Another day will work just as easily.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:04 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I wish I could say I've been feeling more chatty, but truth be told, I've been focused this month! Dare I say it? Me....focused? Usually I flit about from one thing to another, not really sure where I want to be, or what I want to accomplish each day.

March has been a wind of change. 

I've actually accomplished so much, I'm left scratching my head. I'm not sure what's different. The other thing that's happened, is that I've lost my obsession about the slow changes in my body. I've upped my training to 3x a week, from 2x a week, and I'm finally at peace that it will take awhile for my bod to respond. I'm okay with it...things are happening.

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 07:53 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I'm so thrilled to hear that the IzeaFest will be in Orlando this year. The coolest part of this, is I was all ready scheduled to be in that area of Florida when they're having it. I don't need to book reservations or anything. It falls perfectly into my plans I made a few months ago for a trip we're taking! How cool is that? That's awesome timing.

 I can't wait to see my friends down there. It's going to be so nice to visit with so amny people all at once. I got the chance to see some of my friends last year, but it's been awhile, so I'm looking forward to this.

Gotta love good timing. 

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 10:01 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 09:54 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I had just mentioned I was working on a couple fo websites. One of them is about my beloved Long Beach Island! That's right, I decided to take on the town, and build a website. I'm truly passionate about the area, and wanted to share that with people.

Long Beach Island Summers is a resource guide for all things Long Beach Island. So if you love LBI, or are looking to check it out, be sure to drop by my site.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:32 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I'm in the process of building a skincare website, along with two travel sites. I love the web building process, because it allows me to write and use my creativity to design something that makes me feel good. The best part, is the help provide me with income as well. While I'm targeting a certain skin care market, I won't be discussing things like eczema or psoriasis. I didn't choose to get involved in skin disorders with this particular website. If you need information on psoriasis treatment, you can go somewhere like here. They can help you out with treatement stuff, but that's not my area.

Sometimes you just have to choose a narrow market, so I decided to work on one direction, rather than covering everything. I'm lovig the process, and hope to wrap up shortly!  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:21 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Good news for New Jersey readers! When you have a New Jersey blog, I guess it makes sense to cover some NJ news, eh? LOL

Anyway, the NJ Senate is pushing forward a plan to give people paid leave for family leave. When you have a baby, or if a family member is ill, you can take off up to 12 weeks currently, but it's on your own dime. It means you're not paid.

New Jersey is looking to become the third state to offer paid leave in these circumstances. California and Washington, DC are the other two areas that offer paid leave.  

If you're looking for more info, you can read the details here.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 10:42 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I've had such the itch for a spring fling. I'm so ready for spring to break through, and I keep checking vacation deals for a quick trip to Florida or somewhere tropical and warm. Let me be honest, quite frankly, it's not responsible of me, since I have 3 trips planned this year all ready. It's just that the cold weather has given me a cabin fever like I haven't experienced before. All I can think about it hopping on a plane and heading south for a few days.

With trips planned through the summer, I have plenty of schedule going on, and my budget is yelling at me that another trip isn't what I need. It's just that I keep finding great deals! I'll let you know if my sister and I sneak off for a little while.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 10:27 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

"Reports of monks caught using or selling drugs or having consensual sex with women are not uncommon in the Thai media, which reported on Tuesday a 23-year-old monk was caught raping a teenager he lured to his room through the Web site."

Source 

Man, sometimes you read something and have to really scratch your head...

I was reading an article about a problem with Thai Budhist Monks and the internet! What do you think of when you think of a Monk? Me too, holy person, peace, etc...

Imagine my surprise to read an article speaking of monks using social networking spaces to lure women to them. They had an issue with a rape, and also issues of selling drugs. What is this world coming to?

You can read the article by clicking on the Source link above.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 10:20 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I'm hoping wtih my husband having some extra time off this summer, we'll finally get around to replacing our bathroom vanities. It's been on our list for awhile, but always seems to slide down it, when we've got a bit of time or money. We've picked out the vanities we'd like, and right now, I still have a green sink. Yes, it's from the 70's, and while we've painted the dark wood of the vanity to an off white, it still screams dated. I love the one piece tops, and am looking to replace with one of those. He needs a narrow one, since his bathroom has a smaller size than mine.

Here's hoping the summer holds bathroom upgrades in our future!  When it comes to resale value, kitchens and bathrooms are where you should put the money, and we've got two bathrooms to tackle still! Our kitchen looks great since we updated.

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 10:13 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I picked up Lamb a few months ago, and never got around to reading it...until today. I knew what I was in for, since I'd all ready enjoyed Christopher Moore's "A Dirty Job".

I had been working all day, and decided to take a break. I went out to the sun room to read for an hour. One hour turned into two, and with blurry eyes, I had to close the book for awhile. Getting older sucks sometimes. I was too lazy to go in and get my glasses for eye strain!

Anyway, this is a riot. There's no way to really describe a book that talks about Jesus and his early childhood friend Biff, just know that if you're easily offended, this isn't for you. If you aren't, the book will have you laughing from early into it, and keep you smiling chapter after chapter. I had to stop at Chapter 7, or my eyes weren't going to work for me anymore! I'll get back into it tonight after a breather, but this is one book, I didn't want to put down.  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 04:38 PM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

Did you ever just stop what you were doing, and take a look at it. What is your daily routine?

I've been relooking at what's working for me and what isn't. One of my problems is I get bored easily, so my interests are always shifting. Anyway, I've been looking at my day to day habits, and I'm trying to cut out the stuff that "isn't working for me anymore". I retired two blogs, and there's probably a third I'll play with a little differently.

I want to create a couple more stores, and continue building the three large sites I've been working on. Sometimes I can waste an entire day by being distracted with nonsense. When I have purpose, I find it's easier to feel like I'm accomplishing something.

What do you do in your daily routine that takes you off track?  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:28 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I've mentioned a few times I'm working out. Man, it wears me out some days, but I know I'm doing things the healthy way. It's a slow tedious loss process, but it will help keep the weight off. Anyway, one of the things I did desperately before starting with my trainer was try so many different things, diet pills, fad diets and other failed attempts at losing weight.

I thank goodness for the internet, because you'll find a lot of non-biased reviews on things. That saved me a lot of money, but when you're at that point of desperation, you'll try about anything. What I didn't try was hard work, exercise and changing everything I put in my mouth. Imagine what happened when I did it the right way! I started to lose.

Anyway, if you want to read non-biased reviews, check out SyberVision.com where you can read reviews like this one on Akavar. Seriously, if there was a magic pill, don't you think it would be all over the news? When it's just in the back of some magazine, it tells you it's good marketing, and trying to trigger a response in you. It would be on every single news channel and Oprah and all the others if it was a secret answer in a pill.

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:22 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

I've felt my priorities shifting this past month or two. When income is attached to what you do, it has a habit of molding your priorities! I've been in web building mode, and adding some new online things to my life. I'm trying to stretch out, and flex my internet knowledge, hopefully so that it helps me in the passive income area. I've been doing it casually for awhile, but I kicked it up a notch in 2008.

I'm not sure exactly where I will end up, but at least I finally have a path I want to follow. That's a big change for me. Usually I'm figuring it out as I go, but this time I blueprinted ideas and a path. That's rewarding for me, since I was unsure which direction to move in for awhile.

What have you been up to?  

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 08:11 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy

True Story: I knew this guy who got a moving van, and he was heading from the suburbs up to New York City. First off, I can't imagine driving a truck in NYC, but he had to get his stuff up there. So anyway, about 5 miles from his house, he didn't realize that a bridge was lower than the truck and he ripped off the top of the truck! Yikes, he ended up moving back home, because he owed the truck company money! How crazy is that.

I'd get a mover NYC to do my moving for me if I was going up to the city anyway. Have you ever driven in New York City? It's crazy enough in a car. I'll hire someone thank you very much. Maybe taxi and limo drivers understand the craziness there, but I certainly don't! I've driven up there once, and it was more than enough. Even now if we drive to the city, we'll park in Hoboken and take the path train over, or we hire a driver. We could take the train in too, but I"m not risking my car! 

Posted by Deb of Surviving NJ blog at 07:39 AM | Permalink| Disclosure Policy