I am having the best birthday week making memories ALL OVER Chicago. You know the only thing that would make this birthday week more awesome? A blog comment extravaganza!! My actual birthday is Wednesday June 12 and I am turning 38 (gulp). Or as I prefer to think of it 29 for the 10th year in a row.

Help me celebrate by sharing something in the comment section. How long you have been reading….. why you love my blog…… how foolish rompers are on grown women….. anything at all. And thanks in advance to the best blog readers around!!

About a month ago Heather reached out to me and asked if she could share her story on my blog to raise awareness about her battle with a rare and almost always deadly form of cancer. A form of cancer that is actually preventable. My life has been touched in far too many ways by cancer and I loved the idea of using my little corner of the internet to possibly save a life. Thank you Heather for sharing your story

When my seven-year-old daughter is asked about my cancer, she automatically says, "I saved my mom’s life." She now says it as casually and in the same tone of voice she would use to declare hunger or feeling sick. Telling people about my cancer has become a part of her, something that some people find hard to understand. My daughter speaks the truth, though. She saved my life.

I was 35, and had been married to my husband, Cameron, for seven years before considering a family. I had thought it might take some time to become pregnant, but it took only three months. I was very excited and happy, but also nervous and shocked. Many thoughts raced around my mind, namely what sort of mother I would be. Above all, the most important thing was being a good mother.

My pregnancy was trouble-free until the birth, when I had a C-section because our daughter was breech. The fear I felt immediately turned to joy when I held my daughter for the first time. Looking at her, I knew I would do anything to protect and love her and make her happy. I would dedicate my life to making Lily the best person she could be. She was perfect and I felt such love for her that I could not conceive of the chaos that was coming.

Lily was less than four months old when I was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. I was so shocked at that moment, I was unable to speak, and I could not focus on the doctor telling us that I would need immediate treatment or face death in 15 months. All I could think about was dying and leaving Cameron and Lily alone in this world. My husband did the listening for me and immediately chose a drastic treatment plan that would give me the best chance for survival. This plan would mean the loss of my left lung, along with the removal of lining from my diaphragm and heart.

We traveled to Boston to see one of the best mesothelioma doctors in the world, who performed the surgery. Afterwards, I had an 18-day recovery period in the hospital followed by two weeks in an outpatient clinic. I then went to South Dakota to spend the next two months convalescing in my parents’ home. Lily was already being cared for there while Cameron continued to work, so I was able to be with her, as I grew stronger. Eventually, I returned to Minnesota to undergo radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

As traumatic as all of this was, I survived. I’m here. Mesothelioma has a 95 percent mortality rate, and I am very lucky to be alive now. Lily is right when she says that she literally saved my life.

Please check out the Mesothelioma website to learn more about risk factors, symptoms and treatments. Also reach out to Heather if you or someone you know is battling this disease.

I haven’t blogged much this week. Not sure why. Possibly because every night I sit and stare at a blank cursor and don’t have a lot to say.

Hubby was gone 2 1/2 days traveling for work and hockey playoffs round 2 started. So same difference. I got a new phone (squee). Life with foster care is still an odd mix of rewarding and frustrating. Kids are all antsy for school to end. Weather skipped right over spring and seemed to go to summer. And I’ve given up gluten, dairy and sugar for a while to see if I can finally feel like a normal person again. Desperate times……

I’ve got a little fashion post for you tomorrow. Otherwise, not a whole lot to report. So tell me readers. What is exciting with you?

ps. go wish my dear friend Amanda happy birthday won’t you?

I know I should be writing this week, but with BlogHer and the Olympics it doesn’t really seem like anyone is reading. So have a great weekend and I will be back to talk about penises next week. Yes, you read that right. Penises……

to be continued………….

So if the 2008 Olympics were marked by total apathy (yes, I wrote about being anti-human back then), the 2012 Olympics are marked by complete obsession.

I can. not. get. enough.

I have caught the fever and can usually be found every night live tweeting my Olympic viewing experience. Believe me. The internet is riveted.

Nothing can kill my Olympics groove. I know everyone is complaining about the NBC coverage and honestly I have no idea what Ryan Seacrest is adding to the dialogue, but I can’t seem to be bothered by it all. It could be because, as I said on Facebook, I have yet to have a race outcome spoiled for me. Possibly because I get the bulk of my news from People.com. I can however spoil the outcome of the Katie Holmes/Tom Cruise marriage in case you missed that.

Missy Franklin is my absolute favorite so far. Jordyn Wieber is a close second. In a world where the “idols” held up to my daughters are Kim Kardashian and Katie Perry, I love that there are strong young women with amazing amounts of poise, grace and humility.

The stories, the nail-biting finishes, the underdogs, the champions. I am addicted.

Are you following the Olympics? Who are your favorites?

I am going to unplug for the rest of the week and enjoy my family. If you want something to read while I am gone and you are mourning my absence, click back over to my Spoiled Rotten post and browse the comments. Great discussion going on over there.

May you have a safe, happy and fun 4th of July!

Have this post that is dying to get out of me, but I got a call today from a realtor we bug from time to time because we think of moving about every other month. She asked if she could show our house tomorrow to a buyer who really likes our neighborhood.

Our house. That isn’t for sale. Or remotely in a condition to be showed. And since this is possibly the busiest and most stressful week of my life I said yes. I am clearly insane and unstable.

Send help. And wine. (and cross your fingers- maybe…… unless we decided never to move…….)

Yes, I know, I know I killed Things I Love Thursday. But shortly after I did so, Maria from Be The Difference, reached out to me and asked if she could continue the blog carnival on her site. I was thrilled to pass it on because I was so conflicted in giving it up and letting it die. And I know a lot of you really liked linking up every week. Problem solved.

In honor of the inaugural Be The Difference Things I Love Thursday I thought I would throw out a few things in the beauty department I am absolutely loving lately.

• Organix Moroccan Argan Oil: Megan from Fried Okra talked about this stuff and I am loving it. It makes my hair really shiny and silky. My stylist uses a pricey oil on my hair but I never really understood what it was doing. This stuff is super affordable so go get yourself some.
• Redken Hot Sets: My hairstylist told me to get this after I complained to him that my curls weren’t holding up. You spray it on chunks of hair before you curl it or straighten it and it totally holds your style. Whether I wear my hair straight or wavy I am amazed at how my hair looks hours later. Seriously. It has changed my hair’s life.
• L’Oreal Elnett Hairspray: Hold without stickiness or stiffness. That is all.

Yes. We are all about the hair. But I get results!

Please don’t keep your beauty secrets to yourself. Share your secrets in the comments!

I am linked up to Things I Love Thursday at Be The Difference. Please head over and link up and show her the same love you showed me for so many years.

"Why do you look for the living among the dead?

He is not here; he has risen!”