Back to Blogging and a Wednesday Welcome: Glass In The Hand

Each week I'm using Etsy's Pounce feature in order to discover new items "from undiscovered shops waiting for their first sale" as the Etsy site states. This week's welcome is extended to A Glass in the Hand of Brick, New Jersey. This shop is run by a mother and daughter team. Their hand painted glassware can be personalized at no charge, and you can often choose your own colors and themes. These would make great gifts for so many different occasions, just use your imagination!

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

Sounds dramatic, right? But when it comes to prevention and early detection of breast cancer, a bit of drama is warranted if it will bring attention to this topic!
Today I went for my annual screening mammogram. It took less than 15 minutes which was faster than in the past; it turns out that the radiology center near me invested in a digital machine since my visit last May. I can't say I enjoyed the whole experience, but the slight discomfort is worth knowing that I'm doing what I can to help myself.
This post is intended to help others by serving as a reminder to perform your own monthly self breast exams and to follow the recommended guidelines from the National Cancer Institute (yes, I used to work there!):

• Women age 40 and older should have mammograms every 1 to 2 years.
  
  
• Women who are at higher than average risk of breast cancer should talk with their health care providers about whether to have mammograms before age 40 and how often to have them.

To learn how to do a self-breast exam, you can click HERE to see instructions with illustrations from the Mayo Clinic.
For more information about risk factors for breast cancer, click HERE to visit the NCI fact sheet for screening mammograms.
Remember, the life you save may be your own!

Thank You

Today I'm sending out a THANK YOU to Andrea at Kitch for featuring me on her Inspired by Etsy blog! This is actually a belated thanks because I was also on her DC Lovin' board on April 27th. Hopefully she understands that a belated thank you from me is no less sincere than an on-time thank you!
Here is a photo of today's CREST board showing my Morning Glory Everyday Bag in the upper left corner and one of my fabric note cards in the top center position:



















And the one from April which shows a set of my magnets in the upper left corner:

31 Cent Scoop Night

Tonight is 31 Cent Scoop Night at Baskin-Robbins®!
They'll honor America’s firefighters with a $100,000 donation to the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) National Junior Firefighter Program. Participating stores will reduce prices of small ice creamscoops to 31 cents. At some locations, you may also have an opportunity to make a donation to local fire charities.

Wednesday Welcome: Green Earth Jewelry

Each week I'm using Etsy's Pounce feature in order to discover new items "from undiscovered shops waiting for their first sale" as the Etsy site states. This week's welcome is extended to Green Earth Jewelry of Philadelphia. This shop is a perfect choice for an Earth Day feature since this jewelry designer says in her profile "My second love is the environment, which is why I only use recycled metals in my designs now. I purchase my metals from a refiner that never buys metal from mines, meaning they recycle precious metal scrap from jewelers or buy from other refiners who do not buy from mines. I also use fair trade or responsibly mined gemstones when possible." Nice policies and nice jewelry!

Home Sweet Home

It is great to get away with the family for a vacation but it is also good to be home. We had a fun time in Florida over the kids' spring break earlier this month. We enjoyed beaches, pool time, a day at Epcot, mini-golf, and even an ice hockey game in Tampa.
While we were away we celebrated my husband's birthday, our 15th Anniversary, and Easter. It was a busy trip and a long drive but well worth it all.
Our time in Sarasota was fun, but I am glad to be home and have some quiet time to myself with the kids back in school and the hubby back to work. Although I've been working at catching up on laundry and house cleaning, I still squeezed in some much needed exercise time at Jazzercise and a few volunteer hours at the animal shelter where I'm a "cat cuddler".
And now we're all caught up! Did anyone else travel this month? Tell me about it!

Wednesday Welcome: Peas On Earth

Each week I'm using Etsy's Pounce feature in order to discover new items "from undiscovered shops waiting for their first sale" as the Etsy site states. This week's welcome is extended to Peas on Earth of Nashville, TN. The artist creates t-shirts that are "Inspired with messages that influence the environment of the future and hopes to change the world around us". There are also many adorable art prints to enjoy; have a look!