Happy 2014!

Happy 2014 everyone! I hope it's off to a good start.

2013 Top 5 Photos from Instagram: 

Snow, Cancer Survivor, Marriage,

Kevin & Music, Friends

What can I say about 2013? It was a pretty damn good year. Compared to 2012, 2013 was like a daily dose of happiness, sunshine, and kittens. All day. Every day. Sure, 2013, you were pretty shitty sometimes, but none of us are perfect. At least you didn't come with the news of cancer, or double mastectomies. You just came with the news of ovary scares, anxiety, panic attacks, and leftover pain. Nothing I can't handle these days.

I'm excited where 2014 may take me. I'm not going to make any new year's resolutions (I never do), I just like to come up with some things I'd like to do in the New Year, and try my best to make them happen. No promises and no guilt! For the New Year, I'd like to be a bit healthier, and eat a bit better. I've tried, but it's hard. It's always hard. I love food. I love food so so much. Damn you dairy, damn you cheese.

And in regards to my health, I'd just like to be back down to the weight I was before surgery. I've been having such trouble losing the 10 or so pounds I've gained since surgery. I think I need to stop blaming the extra weight on my foobs. I'm pretty sure they don't weigh 5 pounds each, but it was a good try. I still run (or bike) at least 4 times a week, so it must be what I'm eating. Dammit! The holidays are over, so it's time for me to get back on the wagon and give it the old college try. Wish me luck!

Hello 2014! It's nice to see you. Please be kind to me, my friends, and my family.

- J.

Grateful is a Good Place to Wind up in Life

I know, I know. I've been a bad blogger. "Where is that damn Creative Cups review?!" you've been asking yourself for DAYS now. Well here it is! It was so much fun that I had to let it all soak in. I had to wade through picture after picture of one beautifully designed bra after another.

From the moment I walked in I knew I was about to participate in something special. The air in the room was just so positive. The 100+ bras were set up on long banquet tables with each of their stories standing near by on a placard. There was a piece of paper in front of the bras for the silent auction.




Just as I expected, each story that went along with every bra was interesting, inspirational, and thoughtful. The care and precision that went into each bra's creation was thought provoking and special.

Look at all these beautifully creative bras! I know! There are so many! They are all so artistic! You are feeling overwhelmed! Well, too bad! OK, I admit it. I was a bit overwhelmed myself. I wanted to read every story and really take in every bra but it was becoming an impossible task. I knew I had to purchase a Creative Cups book. In the book there is a professional portrait of each bra and the story that goes along with it. This has given me a better chance to read each story again and really think about the bra.

Even the back of each bra was crafted with loving detail. I would walk up and down the tables looking at both the front and back of all the bras. There was everything from ladybugs, to messages of hope, to recipes, to bottle caps, to filmstrips, to flowers, to bike pumps, to chains on the back clasps. Each bra was as different as the next!

I found this fundraiser to be quite different from others that I've attended. There was no pomp and circumstance. No one was patting a sponsor on the back. There was no chanting. Everyone there came to look at some beautiful artwork and to support a good cause. I spoke to amazing women who have been through hell and back and are still smiling. I bonded with some over my "Yes, they're fake t-shirt." It's amazing how many women came up to me and said they need to buy the shirt. There are so many of us out there! During the evening I was surrounded by my amazing and supportive co-workers. Also, C.D. and McCheese made the trek out to the event to celebrate with me and I couldn't thank them enough.

Pat Battle, an anchor for the NY local NBC news channel and a breast cancer survivor herself, was an amazing emcee for the event. She spoke briefly and the excitement from the evening was just emanating from her as the beautiful bras circulated behind her on a slideshow presentation.

Can you tell how excited I was to see my bra on display? I thought it looked beautiful on the bust and I felt very proud of the work that we put in to it. It was auctioned off for $155.00!! There was actually a bidding war towards the end of the evening on "Fancy Me a Heroine." I was so humbled by the two women who were bidding back and forth on it. I am glad my co-workers and I were able to raise that money to go to the NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline. I would be lying if I said I wasn't sad to part with it, but I know it is going to a good home for a good cause. I hope it brings as much joy to the person who won it as it did to me while I was creating it.

By the end of the night I felt so empowered, so supported, and so loved. I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster, with only positive feelings of course. My night officially ended with C.D. and McCheese presenting me with a little cancerversary gift. They had created a scrapbook of my journey from the past year using pictures, parts of my blog posts and their own thoughts and feelings during that time. It is such a beautiful gift and something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I am so lucky and grateful to be where I am today. The support I've received during this journey and that I continue to receive to this day from everyone around me is just tremendous. Thank you to Creative Cups for allowing me to express myself creatively, and putting together such a wonderful event. I look forward to the next one, whenever that may be!

One of our many quotes from the back of our bra from Betty Rollin:

“Awful things happen to an awful lot of us & it's a happy moment when you start noticing some kind of payoff. Cancer survivors for ex, notice that they're breathing in a way other people don't. And because they are breathing they are grateful in a way a lot of people aren't. And grateful is a good place to wind up in life. It beats poor me.”

- J.

P.S. I heard that the event raised over $70,000 for the Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Program. How amazing is that?!

Good Riddance 2012!

I can't say I'll miss ya 2012, you weren't too kind to me.

No, no, I don't want to beat up all of 2012. For what it's worth, 2012 wasn't THAT bad. Sure I found out I had breast cancer. Sure I lost my awesome boobies. Sure my anxiety was at an all time high. But once that was all over, it was actually quite pleasant.

I still can't get over the fact that I am ending 2012 with a new rack. I never, in my wildest imagination, believed this would happen at such an early age. But it did. I dealt with it, took care of it, and I am still here to tell the tale.

Like I've said before, I am still hyper-aware of my implants. They still bother me. They still get in my way. They will never look quite "right." I can't get any damn cleavage to show off. I am still frightened of people bumping in to them. Buuuuuut, these pesky implants do have some "perks" (heh). They are a bit bigger than my previous pair. They will forever be perky. They have some pretty kickass scars. They don't have any nips. And if I fall overboard I have my own built in life preserver (this theory has yet to be tested out).

So 2012, to you I say adieu! I am excited for what 2013 has in store for me. I have concerts to rock out to. I have vacations where I can relax. I have a wedding to plan. And much, much more. You may have knocked me down for a couple of months breast cancer, but I just got right back up. You may have altered my body a bit breast cancer, but I will use it to my advantage. Don't think you got the best of me breast cancer, because you didn't, and you never will.

Happy New Year to all!

- J.