I Had My First Mammogram

The dreaded mammogram - before I had one, I pretty much grouped that appointment in with getting my teeth drilled. Word on the street was, they are painful and you have a machine squeeze your boobs flat into pancakes. I'm assuming you men would put it right up there with a prostate exam.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP…

 

After having my second child, I asked my OBGYN about getting one. At the time I was 39 with no history of breast cancer. I had to wait until I was officially 40. Well, 40 came and went. As did 41, 42, and 43. After throwing my back out earlier this year, I had to go to the doc for a follow-up. On the drive to the clinic, NPR was talking about breast cancer. In the waiting room, Oprah was on the TV discussing…wait for it…breast cancer. I sat in the waiting room by a bunch of mammograms and early detection brochures. Okay, okay already! I'll ask my doc to book the mammogram. Geez! I hear ya universe, loud and clear.

 

 

My primary gave me a work order to book a boob pancake, and I sat on it for another month until the morning news health report was on…you guessed it…breast cancer. Gah, where did I put that order? After searching stacks of mail, I found it in my closet, crumpled up and stashed in a purse I had swapped out. I called and got in the next morning at 6am.

After hanging up the phone, anxiety kicked into high gear. My mind was racing with thoughts about psychic signs and Oprah, brochures and chemo treatments. Suddenly, I swore I could feel itching in my left boob. BTDubs, don't Google that symptom because the interwebs just tells you, you most certainly have breast cancer. I couldn't sleep.

5:15am I yanked myself outta bed and made my way over to the hospital. I hate hospitals. All I can think about are tubes and liquids and people dying. PTSD from the whole dead sister debacle. My anxiety was peaking to a level of panic attack. I had a sudden case of the 3 P's: poop, puke, or pass out. (The easiest way to relieve yourself of a panic attack.) Unfortunately, because I was standing in the lobby, waiting in line, none of those were viable options. I took a deep breath and clenched my butt cheeks as tight as I could.

All I could think about was my old prescription of Lorazepam in my other purse. It could have come in handy. In retrospect, my apprehension was extreme and dramatic, to say the least. I was literally walking in for an x-ray and nothing more. I had taken this mammogram to a level of crazy.

The receptionist handed me one of those buzzer things you get while waiting for a table at Chilis. If you suffer from anxiety, you probably understand the 3 P's quite well. It's difficult to talk them down. There was a Starbucks in the lobby which looked fairly empty. I had no idea where the bathroom was located and didn't want my buzzer and red lights to start going off. I walked over to the garbage can and passed some much-needed gas. Oh dear lord there was a sofa behind that trash can! Someone is sitting in said sofa. Walk away…but I had opened the gates. How does someone have this much air in their body??? My buzzer started going off.

 

 

I made the walk of stinky shame over to check in and wound up backtracking thru again to get to the breast center. Oy vey. At least the panic attack had "vaporized". At the breast center, they had me change into a mauve colored wrap shirt with pink ties and sit in another smaller waiting room. Two other ladies, with matching shirts, looked up and then back down to the floor. Oprah was on the TV again talking about…you guessed it…breast cancer. *palm to forehead*.

No more than 5 minutes later, my name was called, and I walked into a dark room with a chair, a small sink and a very large machine for which I assumed to be the pancake maker. I was sweating profusely and felt very stinky. No, not from farting but rather BO. The one no-no before a mammogram is to wear deodorant. Also no oils, no lotions. Since I had an early morning appointment, I figured I'd take the extra 30 minutes of sleep and take a shower when I got home. Bad idea.

The tech put on blue gloves and asked me to stand by the giant boob mashing machine. She lifted one up onto this little shelf and clamped it down. "Don't breath. Don't move." I held my breath waiting for the pancake of pain. The boob masher went buzz, buzz and she said, "Okay, you can breathe now." Wait, wut??? THAT was what I was afraid of??? THAT is what made this morning so dramatic??? Srsly?

She did the second boob and sent me home on my merry way. The radiologist would review the mammogram and get back to my doctor in 2 days. As I walked back to the car I just shook my head. I couldn't believe how I had stunk out the entire lobby of a hospital and sweat through my mauve gown. A complete and utter overreaction to such a simple procedure.

Two days later, I got a call I wasn't expecting. The radiologist had found microcalcifications and wanted me to come back for a follow-up mammogram. So what is the first thing you should do after hearing that news? You Google it, of course. Gah….NO! DO NOT DO THAT. But of course, I did it anyway. The page was filled with words like cancer, breast, precancerous, calcium deposits, genetic mutation, tissue, benign, malignant, signs of breast cancer, mayo clinic, Susan G. Komen, not cancerous, turns into cancer, suspicious, biopsy. Basically none of the words you ever want to read, ever.

My doctor called that same night around 7pm. She told me not to worry. (In my head I'm thinking lady, you're telling me don't worry but you're calling me personally for the first time ever. Way to put my mind at ease.) Microcalcifications were described to me as a cloud that was difficult to see through. Since this was my baseline mammogram, they had nothing to compare it to, and the radiologist just wanted to take a few more images at different angles…basically to see if anything else was hiding in there.

Again I drove over to the hospital, but this time no panic attack. I checked in and waited. This appointment was later in the day so there was more hustle and bustle…I also learned from my previous mistake and took a shower this time. A few guys sat in the waiting room just staring at the floor. I was unsure if they were patients or sweet husbands waiting for their wives. When the nurse called me in, I changed into my mauve gown with pink ties and again took a seat with the other ladies. They were all quite older than me. Then this started happening.

HOSPITAL INTERCOM: "Attention please. Stroke alert. Emergency."

One of the men from the main waiting room sat with us ladies…he was not wearing a mauve gown, and instantly, the air was filled with awkwardness. The older ladies started shifting around in their seats, staring at each other in a full-blown silent tizzy. Now if these women felt uncomfortable, I can only imagine how the poor guy felt. The nurse shooed him out the main waiting room and apologized to us profusely. I chuckled when the older woman named Pearl said, "Heavens, I didn't know if I should even make eye contact with him!"Oh Pearl. I'm not sure what she thought would happen. But who was I to judge, I nearly shat my pants a few days prior.

HOSPITAL INTERCOM: "Attention please. Security emergency. ICU 366."

I was in and out of the boob mashing room in a jiffy, but unlike last time, I had to stick around. The radiologist was going to review the new images right then and there. I sat back down in the little room with all the other ladies and their mauve wraps. They looked at me and knew this was not normal protocol. Coral stood up and used her walker to make her way over to me.

"I like your shoes," she said.
"Thanks"
"They look comfortable. It's difficult to find sandals that are comfortable."

I nodded.
This was going to be the longest 15 minutes of my life.

"Ya, these have a cork bottom, so they kinda mold to your foot."
"Who makes those sandals?"
"Birkenstock."
"Oh, I should have known they were Birkenstocks. I like my Merrills. They have a lot of support."
"Ya, Merrills are great shoes."

HOSPITAL INTERCOM: "Attention please. Missing person. 402. male. Blue shirt."

Coral looked at her walker. We didn't have much else to say to each other. I texted my husband and Marianne. I scrolled through Twitter. I laughed out loud when I saw @wofanswers  "A     _ R _ _ P    _ _   _ _ _ S"   The answer: A GROUP OF TITS. That tweet couldn't have been any more fitting for the occasion. Coral looked at me inquisitively, but I could possibly explain Twitter to her. Besides, Pearl might have gone into cardiac arrest.

The nurse called me back, but this time into a different small room. If you've read the dead sister debacle, you know how I hate small rooms in hospitals. Bad news is relayed in small dimly lit rooms. She took a deep breath. Oh boy. I braced myself for the "C" word. "The radiologist is in the middle of a biopsy, and it's taking longer than expected. I didn't want you to worry." Sweet Baby Jesus lady. You about gave me a heart attack woman.

HOSPITAL INTERCOM: "Attention please. Stroke alert. Emergency."

I waited about another 20 minutes and was finally called back. Coral gave me the thumbs up. I smiled and said, "thank you". The nurse had me sit down and the radiologist followed behind us. It's funny, I have absolutely no idea what she said. It started off with microcalcifications can be…and then everything went slightly foggy until I heard, "It's probably nothing, but since this is your baseline and we have nothing to compare it to, I'm asking you to come back in 6 months." That's it? "Yup, That's it."

HOSPITAL INTERCOM: "Attention please. Security emergency. ICU 366."

So for now, I'm fine. Panic-free and feeling great. I'm glad I finally had a mammogram. Relieved actually. If you haven't had a mammogram, are procrastinating, or just need to make your yearly appointment…please do it now. This is your reminder. Your sign. It's not that bad, and it will put your mind at ease. If you're dragging your feet because you're anxious, hopefully, me sharing my experience puts your mind at ease.

If you're one of those ladies who received the news I feared, I'm praying for you. I can't imagine how scared you are. I wish you strength.

If you're in the waiting room, wearing that same mauve gown and see someone who looks worried. Channel Coral.

 

 

 

The post I Had My First Mammogram appeared first on House Of Hipsters.

Fashion Friday: Fall-ing for Pink

(Image via Halsbrook)

The fall 2018 runways predicted hot pink would be HUGE this fall…. and so it is!  Now not all of us can rock a bright fuschia, but there are tons of great items in all ranges of pink (the bolder, the more on trend you'll be though).  Here is a round up of this happy, bright color that I love mixing with camels and other rich neutrals during colder months!

1. (jacket and pants) // 2. // 3. // 4. // 5. // 6. // 7. // 8. // 9. // 10. (This is on Poshmark- how I wish J.Crew would re-make this!) // 11. // 12. // 13.

The post Fashion Friday: Fall-ing for Pink appeared first on Elements of Style Blog.

Rachel Whiteread

Episode No. 357 features artist Rachel Whiteread.

The National Gallery of Art in Washington opens a retrospective of Whiteread's thirty-year career on September 16. The exhibition will feature more than 100 objects, from her earliest casts of domestic objects such as a swimming cap, to her most important sculptures, such as Ghost (1990) from the NGA's own collection. The show will extend into the atrium of the NGA's East Building, where the museum will install Whiteread's Untitled (Domestic) (2002), a 22-foot-tall plaster cast of the negative space of a fire escape staircase loaned by the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. "Rachel Whiteread" is on view in Washington through January 13, 2019. It was curated by Molly Donovan and Ann Gallagher. From Washington it will travel to the Saint Louis Art Museum. The excellent exhibition catalogue was published by the Tate, which originated the exhibition. Amazon offers it starting at $31.

Summer clips: Wayne Thiebaud

Episode No. 355 features artist Wayne Thiebaud.

Next month, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will offer two Thiebaud exhibitions: "Paintings and Drawings," a presentation of Thiebauds in SFMOMA's collection, and "Artist's Choice," a Thiebaud-selected installation of artworks from the museum's collection. Both shows open on Sept. 29.

This conversation is part one of a program that host Tyler Green recorded with Thiebaud in December, 2017. It first aired in January, 2018. For images, see Episode No. 324.

Why Do We Have So Much Stuff?

Why do we have so much "stuff"?

Why do we as humans feel the need to collect and fill every nook and cranny in our homes?

As an interior decorator in London Ontario with over 20 years of experience, I've seen all sorts of different homes.

Some are minimal, some are tidy, but most happen to be cluttered with decades worth of… STUFF!

So why do we have so much stuff?

This lovely couple that were preparing their home for sale asked me just that question when I was finished staging.

But I Like Stuff!

When you get home at the end of the day, the last thing you want to do is organize, clean, or redecorate.

It's all you can do to have dinner on the table and get the kids to soccer practice, music class, or whatever other activities they're involved in, and pick up some food at the grocery store.

Over years of living like this, growing your family, working hard and just trying to survive, life has a way of just taking over.

Your stuff finds a place of its own, not because it's the most logical or appealing place for it, but because it's just easier to toss it in the corner.

But of course, the way we live in our homes and the way we prepare them to be sold is very different.

This couple was putting their home on the market, and their realtor called me in to stage it for them.

They were absolutely lovely to work with and were happy to implement the changes I suggested, but when they saw the results they were even happier, and even a bit shocked if I may say.

Take a look at the photos below – this is their kitchen and dining room as it looked when I first arrived.

What do you see here?

I see a home well-lived in by two busy people who just never had the time or the energy to decorate.

It's functional for them, but it isn't terribly pretty.

And if you're on the market to buy a home and you're trying to picture your own life in this house, sadly all you'll see is chaos and stress.

So what do you do about it?

What did they do?

They hired me, of course.

Here's what it looked like after we were finished.

Which one looks more inviting to you?

To prepare this home for sale, I removed the top of their hutch and replaced their chairs with fresh, modern looking ones.

I removed their spoon collection and other tchotchkes, and replaced them with a simple, understated painting.

And of course, the area rug below ties everything together.

But what was most amazing is how much stuff they had that they didn't need.

For example, they had ten different sets of wine glasses, twelve different sets of drinking glasses, and fourteen different sets of glass dishes.

Yes, seriously!

When will you EVER make use of fourteen different sets of glass dishes?

But the funny part was that they didn't even realize how many they had.

Some of those had probably been sitting in their hutch for years or even decades, just taking up space and adding clutter to their lives for no reason.

Once they saw the difference in their staged home, they hired me to help them decorate their new home.

The Purge

Sometimes we just have too much stuff, but it can be overwhelming and even frightening to get rid of some of it.

Maybe your kids have grown up and moved on, but your home is still set up like it was when they were teenagers.

Maybe you just have trouble letting go of some things – I can understand!

But if you're an empty-nester, it's time to make your home all about you, like it was for this couple.

They were like children in a new sandbox, and it was so much fun to help them.

They donated a lot of their stuff – including some of those dish sets – and kept the stuff that had important sentimental value.

But a lot of their stuff just ended up getting tossed.

After all, it was many years old and didn't owe them anything.

These days, decorating style is much less cluttered than it used to be.

Once upon a time, a Victorian-era wooden hutch with a collection of antiques, dishes, collectibles, and other tchotchkes might have been in vogue, but these days "less is more" is the way to go.

Keep things simple, minimal, sleek, clean, fresh, and zen.

You'd be surprising how peaceful it can be.

What do you have in your home that you could purge, give away, or donate?

How can you decrease the amount of clutter in your life?

Purging is good for the soul.

Besides, once you purge you'll have room to buy new stuff!

Find more tips on interior design, decor, and style at: london's best interior decorator

Mati Design can help you enhance the natural beauty of your home in a way that is timeless, comfortable, and works for you and your family Contact her for more information on his work. Mati Edwards 441 Montrose Ave, Toronto, ON M6G 3H2 Mati Design in Google+ . - https://goo.gl/maps/RVwBYgm9sL52

How to Paint Your Concrete Steps or Patio

I've received a lot of questions about the color on our concrete patio, so I thought it was about time I finally do a post to answer questions and give you some details on how to do it yourself! A few years back when we started this whole side yard project, we decided we wanted […]

This article How to Paint Your Concrete Steps or Patio is from The Inspired Room Republishing this article in full or in part is a violation of copyright law. © 2009-2013, all rights reserved.

Why Didn’t I Do This Before?

"Why didn't I do this before, so I could have enjoyed it?"

If I had a dollar every time I heard this from a client, I could probably have retired from the world of London Ontario interior decorating already.

People have busy lives these days – technology was supposed to make our lives easier, but instead it seems to have made us even busier.

Lifestyles are becoming even more fast-paced, especially for the entrepreneurs and parents among us.

We've all got a thousand things on our mind at any given moment, and when we come home at the end of the day the last thing we want to think about is redecorating, no matter how badly our home might need it.

And once the weekend comes, you've already got so many things planned – outings with the kids, visits to friends and family, maybe a concert or a festival to go to – that the idea of making time for decorating may seem like a far-off idea.

You might have been thinking about replacing that couch with a few holes in it, or that dated 80's floral wallpaper, or that 70's wood paneling on your wall, but for many of us it never goes any further than a thought.

"Gee, I wish my home looked nicer," you might think to yourself, "but I just don't have the time to renovate it or redecorate."

If that sounds familiar, don't worry – you're not alone.

Redecorating Your House

When I'm called in by one of the real estate agents I work with for a home staging consultation, I typically hear the same thing over and over.

After all, when you're ready to put your home on the market to be sold, you naturally want to make sure you squeeze every last dollar out of it you can.

At this point, homeowners are ready to do whatever it takes – whether it's a fresh coat of paint on the walls, downsizing, rearranging furniture, getting rid of old items that no longer work, or even more in-depth renovation work like replacing the floor.

And once I've finished staging their home, many clients end up shocked at how wonderful it can look.

It's like watching one of those makeover shows – when you neglect the way you look for a long time you sometimes end up forgetting how wonderful you can look.

This is true with your home as well – neglect it, and it falls into disrepair, but it can still be made to look beautiful again.

In fact, some people are so amazed they can't even believe it's their home.

Take the following photo, for example.

This home belonged to a couple whose children had grown up and moved away, and they found themselves with more house than they needed, so it was time to downsize.

This is what their bedroom looked like when I first met them.

It's a perfect showcase of how most of us live day to day in our busy lives, without taking into consideration the environment we're creating around us.

Thankfully, though, this couple was very open to suggestion.

After working together, here is the difference I was able to make with their bedroom:

Yep, that's the same room!

It may look completely different, but it really isn't – all it took was a coat of fresh paint, a new bed set, a quick furniture rearrangement, and some accessorizing.

After we were done, these clients told me they needed the push and the expertise of someone like me to make the changes for them, since it was always too overwhelming for them to do themselves.

Once they moved into their new home, these clients brought their new look with them, using many of the items they purchased to stage their old home to decorate their new one.

I'm always happy to show you how amazing your home can look.

Contact MatiDesign

Don't wait until you have to move to get the home of your dreams.

Contact MatiDesign today to book an in-home decorating consultation.

During that consultation, I'll help you understand what it is about your home that's causing it to look aged, tired, or worn out, walk you through some ideas, and show you hoe I can help you make your home look its best.

Don't just live with a home you hate.

Call me, MatiDesign, and let me give you a home you'll love

Discover additional info about interior design, decor, and style at: home stagers london ontario

Mati Design can help you enhance the natural beauty of your home in a way that is timeless, comfortable, and works for you and your family Contact her for more information on his work. Mati Edwards 441 Montrose Ave, Toronto, ON M6G 3H2 Mati Design in Google+ . - https://goo.gl/maps/RVwBYgm9sL52

Holiday clips: "Thomas Cole: Empire to Eden"

Episode No. 348 is a holiday weekend clips episode with curator Betsy Kornhauser.

Along with Tim Barringer, Kornhauser  is the co-curator of "Thomas Cole: Eden to Empire," which is at the National Gallery in London through October 7. (The re-titled exhibition debuted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in January as "Thomas Cole's Journey: Atlantic Crossings.") Barringer and Kornhauser's show examines Cole's origins in the north of England during the Industrial Revolution and the impact Britain and Cole's travels through England and Italy had on his American career. It is the first time Cole's work has been examined in the context of his European experiences, and aims to present Cole as not just an American figure, but as a trans-Atlantic figure. The outstanding exhibition catalogue, one of the best of 2018, was published by the Met and is distributed by Yale University Press. Amazon offers it for $65.

For images of art discussed on this week's program, see Episode No. 326.

Heartwarming Houston Wedding at the Hobby Center

Allison and Kyle are an incredibly gorgeous couple both inside and out. They're an inspiration of love and instantaneously spread joy to all those around them with their kind personalities and infectious beautiful smiles. Best wishes to these newlyweds – may the warmth of your everlasting love surround you both forever. ~ Bear Hands Media

Continue reading on Style Me Pretty

Carrie Moyer, Aram Han Sifuentes

Episode No. 343 features artists Carrie Moyer and Aram Han Sifuentes.

Moyer is included in "Inherent Structures" at the Wexner Center for the Arts. The exhibition features 16 artists who complicate abstract painting's traditional association with chance and aesthetic purity with work that addresses concerns that range from an exploration of materials and paints to the artists' sociopolitical interests. The exhibition was curated by Michael Goodson and is on view through August 12.

Carrie Moyer is a New York-based painter whose work has mined the history of abstract painting, particularly composition and the way artists have used different materials and techniques. Moyer's work -- and titles -- often point to contemporary life and politics. Moyer frequently writes criticism for outlets such as Art in America. In 1991 she co-founded the lesbian public art project Dyke Action Machine! The Tang Museum organized a survey of Moyer's work in 2013; she's also had solo shows at the Worcester Art Museum, and at the Katzen Arts Center at American University in Washington, DC.

On the second segment, Aram Han Sifuentes discusses her Protest Banner Lending Library, which she's organizing during a summer-long residency at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis. Protest Banner Lending Library is an ongoing, multi-city project in which Sifuentes works with a community to create banners and to borrown from her ever-growing library of handmade banners. The banners typically address contemporary sociopolitical issues. Her work has been exhibited at numerous museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the MCA Chicago.