Don’t forget, today is Club 17 check-in day! Have you done your Breast Self Exam? Check-in HERE!

For those unfamiliar with Club 17, it is a reminder system for the female blogosphere to do their Basically it’s a reminder for the female blogosphere to do their monthly Breast Self Exams (BSE). It is recommended that women begin BSEs at age 20.

Also, word to the wise - don’t overdo it on Turkey Day! It’s OK to eat smaller portions, and make sure you are still exercising! While these are good tips in general, it is especially important that women maintain a healthy diet and exercise to decrease their chances for breast cancer.

I have ALWAYS been obsessed with the Nutcracker. When I was younger, I danced in the Nutcracker every year with my dance studio. When I learned to dance on pointe, my first performance in toe shoes was as an angel in the Nutcracker.

When we moved to Florida, my new studio didn’t put on a production of the Nutcracker, and this devastated me as I had fallen hopelessly in love at this point. I had to stay involved somehow, so I started a collection. Today my nutcracker collection is quite extensive, and I am so thrilled that I have my Christmas decorations in North Carolina now because I will be able to put some of them up in my apartment! No worries, I’ll post pictures when that happens

I was thrilled when my senior year in high school, the women’s chorus that I was the president of at my school was offered the opportunity to sing the vocals at the end of the first act. I was thrilled to be involved again with my favorite ballet and a now required part of my Christmas. It was fantastic to be able to participate in this show in a new way, and I still sing along when I hear the soundtrack!

And now, it’s all coming full circle. Today, here in graduate school, I am in my box office rotation. And every five minutes or so the phone rings and I sell a few Nutcracker tickets to children and their grandparents . . . does it sound cheesy for me to say this makes me feel all warm and fuzzy?

I love the Nutcracker . . .

I totally meant to post this 2 days ago, but things have been a little crazy here. This month is breast cancer awareness month, so it’s a great month to start with Club 17! Have you done your Breast Self Exam? Check-in HERE!

For those unfamiliar with Club 17, basically it’s a reminder for the female blogosphere to do their monthly Breast Self Exams (BSE). It is recommended that women begin BSEs at age 20.

(I meant to post this yesterday, but my mom was here in town, so things got away from me!)

It’s October, and that means that it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month! As many of you know, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2000 - she found the cancer through a self-exam, and it NEVER showed up on the mammogram (so do your self-exam!). She has been in remission since August 2000, and she is an incredible woman!

There are so many things that we can do to help prevent the risk of breast cancer - exercise, watching what we eat (somethings are good for us - others not so much), and maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes breast self-exams (BSE) and mammograms. Throughout the month I’ll be posting things that will help us be more aware!

Here are some links to national sites about breast cancer: FitSugar

Don’t forget to stop by The Breast Cancer Site to click - this helps give free mammograms to underprivileged women, and it’s so easy to go click once a day: The Breast Cancer Site

Here are my other posts about breast cancer: Breast Cancer Posts

Here is one post that I want EVERYONE to read: Inflammatory Breast Cancer

If you have any questions about breast cancer or my family’s personal experience with it, I am VERY open about this topic, and will answer any questions you may have - please don’t take this subject lightly!

Breast Cancer Awarenss Ribbon Gifts originally uploaded by The Taif Healthy City Programme.