What I'll be celebrating in October

I'm not going to spend this month wearing pink and forking out money for products covered in pink ribbons. Instead, I'm boycotting the Susan G. Komen foundation and companies that "donate" proceeds to them. In recent months, I've been doing A LOT of research on the "pinking of America" and how breast cancer is now a brand instead of an illness.

Please let me preface this by saying a few things: I do understand that breast cancer kills women because my grandmother died of this disease, I'm not trying to say that breast cancer doesn't deserve awareness but I do think we need to tone it down a little and remember that there are other diseases that kill lots of women and people in general.

When I walked into the grocery store last week (which was still September/Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month) there was pink EVERYWHERE. Signs on the door telling you which brands were donating money, pink ribbon balloons and just a general sea of pepto pink. Many of these companies want you to believe that breast cancer is the number one killer of women, but in reality its not even in the top 10. Want to guess what number one is - heart disease, which is follwed by cancer (in general) and stroke. Last night, Andrew and I watched a special on CNBC about Corporate Philanthropy and where the money really goes that companies donate. One of my favorite quotes from the show was "if shopping could cure breast cancer, we could have cured it ten fold by now."

I was surprised to find out that a lot of products sporting pink ribbons can actually cause cancer such as Yopliat yougurt. The yougurt is made from cows that are injected with a hormone that increases the risk of breast cancer in women. Komen has apparently done their own research into this and found that there is no risk and continues to place the pink lids on their product every October. They also recently were in the news for suing other breast cancer non-profits for using the the words "race for the cure" to promote their own races. The organization I volunteer with wanted to partner with them to make women more aware that breast and ovarian cancer are linked, but they refused without at $25,000 donation to their organization.

The cause marketing that Komen is using makes breast cancer seem like something we can easily glamourize and make light of by purchasing pink products. The truth is that any kind of cancer is not glamorous and cannot be cured by buying everything with a pink ribbon attached. Instead of giving your money to breast cancer awareness this month, consider some of these other great causes or at least do your research and find out where the money is really going!

Celiac Awareness

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness

Healthy Lungs

Lupus Awareness

Domestic Violence Awareness

Sweet Autumn

As much as I hate to see summer go, I really do love the fall. The crisp mornings, changing colors of the leaves, bonfires, hoodies, Halloween, lots of family birthdays and Thanksgiving.

Yesterday we celebrated birthdays for Andrew, his parents and his sister. After the party, Andrew's sister and I took a walk around her place and into the woods at his parents house. We saw tons of neat mushrooms, pretty fall blooming wildflowers and trees starting to turn.

This morning I woke up with a terrible cold, hardly slept at all and managed to snore so loud that Andrew went and slept on the couch (which I felt horrible about). I've tried to get things done around the house, but now I'm totally worn out again, watching my DVR shows and contemplating making dinner early. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by tomorrow or I may not be going to work.

Eight

Eight years ago today I met someone who changed my life so much that I know I'll never forget him. I kept wondering why I was feeling so strange lately, why certain songs were just bringing me down and making me depressed. Then this morning, all of a sudden it hit me when I looked at the date.

On September 13th, 2003 I started college and in that same week I met the first person I was ever in a long term relationship with, that is until I met Andrew. The beginnings of our romance were a whirlwind, at first I wasn't too sure about him, but he kept pursuing me and got me interested. We had the best time together and I fell fast even though I knew he'd be moving thousands of miles away for school soon. I couldn't help myself, it felt so good to be wanted so much by someone. He was a very passionate person and a very emotional person. This made our relationship a rollercoaster with the fighting, breakups and long distance drama. But through it all we had this connection that neither of us could deny.

The final blow to everything happened not long after my 21st birthday, the giving back of the stuff, the weeks I spent locked in my room not eating or sleeping and the fact that still I couldn't let go. To this day, I can't even remember what led to that fight or what it was about and we never talked about it again. I know that we were both mean to one another and didn't appreciate what we had and maybe love just really wasn't enough. For a while, we tried to be friends until I started dating again. When that relationship ended, he was there to catch me and the whirlwind started again. I spent a lot of time with him and we were still pretty involved in one anothers lives until about two years ago. The last time I saw him, I was his date at a wedding. I hadn't seen him in ages and as soon as our eyes met, there were those old fireworks again. I figured that we'd get back together and that everything would be perfect this time, but he basically told me that he couldn't do the long distance relationship, it wasn't going to work. I poured my heart out to him and all of his close friends that weekend, said I knew we were meant to be and went on and on, all the while making a fool of myself.

I've obviously since found someone who completes me and makes me feel appreciated. But if I'm this much in love and going to marry someone else, why can't I finally just let go? What do I need to do to make myself forget? Every year on this day, I'm a total mess and it drives me crazy. I just want to forget, I need to forget what happened eight years ago.

A good weekend

This weekend was a pretty good one! We started out on Friday with dinner at Olive Garden which was delicious despite the annoying table next to us who had the most horrible laughs I'd ever heard. We met up with my brother and some of his friends at Classics Sports Bar afterward for a few drinks and headed home early.

Saturday I was up with the sun to go to an auction in Mt. Vernon (about an hour from my house) with Andrew's mom and sister. There were at least 30 other auctions going on Saturday but we seemed to think this one was the right pick and boy were we right! I only spent $32 and managed to get the following: a Kenmore sewing machine for $2, a very old bird bath for $10, assorted table cloths and linens for $1, an old-fashioned cake & pie carrier for $9, a pair of art deco candlesticks for $8 and a box of vintage Christmas decorations for $2! I messed with the sewing machine (it seems to work fine, just needs cleaned and a new needle) and managed to find a manual online for free. I also got a ton of free apples thanks to Andrew's brother who works at a college with an agriculture program. The apples apparently weren't big enough to sell this year so they let the employees take them!

Sunday we ran all of our errands and went to my parents for the "first annual" Sunday soup dinner. I suggested we not always have soup but maybe next time everyone brings a dish they like to eat while watching football. It was nice to spend time with my family and grandparents. My grandpa seems to be doing a lot better, his hair is even growing back! He's got a ton of bright white peach fuzz and it looks pretty cute.

Today I had lunch with my maid of honor and browsed the bridesmaids dresses at Davids Bridal (which reminded me why I hate that store so much). They didn't have a single dress that either of us liked because everything was strapless. I came home and got started on freezing my huge box of apples, I managed to do 8 quart bags and I'm still not done. I gave up for the night in favor of eating dinner and going to the gym. My working out is going well and I've been more energetic and really sticking with my routine!

On the agenda for this week: Working the next 4 days, meeting with our wedding photographer Wednesday night, continuing with my work out routine and celebrating all of the October birthdays with Andrew's family next weekend!

Goin to the chapel (in a year)

Exactly one year from today I'll be getting ready for our noon wedding! I cannot believe that time has flown by so quickly because it still seems like yesterday that we got engaged! I'm bubbling over with excitement envisioning myself walking down the isle to the man of my dreams!

A few fun quotes I found about marriage:

"I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." - Rita Rudner

"A man marries a woman to have a home, but also because he doesn't want to be bothered with sex and all that sort of thing." - W. Somerset Maugham

"Like a good wine - marriage gets better with age, once you learn to put a cork in it." - Gene Perret