After the final rose x 5, Wed/ July 29

Hey, this is Laura! I'm doing some of this post all by myself! My blog manager, Jenn, aka, Chris Harrison, aka the host of "the Bachelorette", has an inner ear infection or something, but she was able to put the slide show together! My friends from home have been coming over every Monday night to watch "the Bachelorette" with me, even during chemo! First it started with my friend Terri, who didn't have cable at her house and had started coming over to watch "the Biggest Loser" this spring. We would eat light popcorn and drink light beer and watch the people lose weight each week! So, when the new season of the Bachelorette was coming on, i suggested we start watching that. Then, my friends Karen and Sandy started to come, next, sisters Kim and Tracey started to come. We would all talk on commercials.. or.. sometimes during the show, then I had to turn up the volume on the tv.....and they'd have to wait till next commercial to resume their stories. For the final show, Jenn came over with baby Chase and a special guest, Laureen, another friend! I had decided to hold a rose ceremony at the end, much to their surprise. I had 5 roses and 6 girls. Terri was saying.... "pick me first"! In the end, I had to let Laureen go... since it was her first time coming, and i was not able to take her on my "home-town date".
This is way funnier if you actually have watched the show, but I hope you enjoy "the final rose x 5" . Thanks for dropping by and let us know who you think the next bachelor should be: I say Jake, ... but I like Reed, too! love you, laura xxoo

(PS, we really hated Ed's green "mankini" shorts.........)

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All Good Things Come to an End

Hi, this is Jenn, Laura's "blog manager" as she calls me.
Here are some pics from our last night together at the beach.

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Some Beach Photos

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The (Almost) Bald and Beautiful 7/22/09

I so desperately tried to hold on to my hair until Jenn, John and the baby came to the beach by staying out of any strong breezes (which is difficult to do at the shore). But that night, the pressure was off and I lost most of it in the shower. My biggest concern was that I ran out of hot water 10 minutes before I was done pulling the hair out. Unfortunately, I have odd patches and tufts of hair still left. As you will see in the slideshow, my son Drew helped cut the leftover long strands of hair and then today I broke my razor trying to shave the rest for my "Kojak" moment. But hey, I still have my eyebrows.
Wish you were here,
laura xxoo

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Tattoo from the heart

My sister, Tracey had some ink done two weeks ago...
An Ovarian Cancer Teal Ribbon in memory of our mom,
Loretta, who passed five years ago, and in honor of me.

Etsy Project Embrace makes the FP!

WOW, this morning Etsy Project Embrace got some
Front Page Exposure.
I was so excited to see that.
A big thank you to Etsy and to Lynn of UnaOdd
Also, many thanks to the shop owners involved in
Etsy Project Embrace
I appreciate you more than you will ever know.
My hope is that this kind gesture brings you lots of sales
and other good things.

Etsy Project Embrace

Thursday, 7/9/09:
I have to say i've been totally overwhelmed by your continuing support of my newly diagnosed cancer! I hope you always stay with me because I don't know if i could do it without all your love and support!

Chemo was long... nothing major on Monday, but what I'd like to say is "whoozy, floozy" head now for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! I've been reading the Lance Armstrong book and he's racing in the tour de france, but when I'm nauseous or achy, i think of him, riding his bike up the hills! He was thru alot and I can do it too!.... with the exception that i have no interest in riding a bike like that!!
Thanks to all you guys who are participating ETSY Project Embrace: tag: etsyprojectembrace - I don't even know how to say thanks! Love you guys!

Etsy Project Embrace

I believe that you must play the hand you’re dealt. Six weeks ago, I was diagnosed with stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. My mom died from the same. I am a huge believer in eating right, exercising, and getting regular checkups. I’ve done all those things, yet, I have cancer. WOW. That’s a life-changing situation, for sure. I just turned 46 …. (a very very young 46!) Strangely, I feel blessed. Most everyday of these 6 weeks, I’ve had a smile on my face. I’m going to play the hand I’ve been dealt in the best and most positive way I know how. I’m so fortunate my boys are older, they drive, they can do laundry and help around the house. There will always be some people in this world who have it better and some who have it worse. That’s just life.

I’ve been an Etsy addict since around this time last year, when I started doing treasuries. My sister Jenn, of jennreese7 and my niece Kelly, of SweetnessJewelry, are also crazy about Etsy. The one thing I’ve learned in the past year is that Etsy has made it a point to have their competing sellers be friends through promoting each other in the treasuries. That sounds kind of funny, but, on the quest to have the “coveted” FP, we create treasuries, we comment on other treasuries, we “convo” people all over the world to congratulate them on their successes, and we make friends. Aren’t we supposed to be competing for sales?? Well, maybe some things are just more important than sales. From the moment I had a diagnosis, while still in the hospital, my Etsy friends were first on the scene – building treasuries just for me, wishing me well, offering advice, sending gifts, and a few have gone so far as to donate proceeds to the American Cancer Society in my
honor!! Just to remind you………these are people ....I’VE NEVER MET! They have completely gone out of their way to be a friend or try to put a smile on my face. I now even talk to some of them on the phone! Now, I’m not talking 2 or 3 friends, I’m talking like 30 or 40! Some people just have checked my profile and offer words of encouragement! The first day that we learned about my chemo and all the ‘ins and outs’, the ‘goods and bads’, etc., my husband went online to search for support groups. He said to me that night, “I will never do that again, I was so depressed that I had to get off the computer” I said, in reply, “I don’t need support groups, I all need are my friends on Etsy”! They lift me up on a daily basis.

It is Sunday. Tomorrow morning, I will leave my house at 7:30 am for my first round of chemo. I will have an IV drip for about 6 hours and be home around 5:00 pm. I will do that again on Tuesday, then again on Wednesday. then again on the following Monday. I look forward to 8 months of that chemo schedule, followed by another year of some form of maintenance chemo.

There are 4 things I know for sure:
1. I am a Christian and I believe God has a plan for me.
2. I believe in myself to do the very best I can do and try to help others in the process by getting my story out there.
3. I have the most wonderful and supportive husband, family and friends.
4. Logging onto Etsy everyday and hearing from my friends will keep this smile on my face, not matter what I am going through.

If you would like to be a part of etsyprojectembrace you can donate the profits or percentage of profits from one or more listings to the American Cancer Society. Add the tag 'etsyprojectembrace' to the listing (or listings) and mention the project and reason for it in your listing description/s.

If you have any questions, or any ideas as to how you could help further then please feel free to convo kim at slinkymalinkicat, or Amy at ThePeachTree.

To my Etsy Locket Friends

Thank you for being a part of my locket collaboration with Cat
It meant so much! Here are some photos that Jenn took of me while opening the package.

okay, so I know that I have bedhead!