Sheryl Crow's Cookbook Review and Giveaway!!!

As most of you who have been following my blog know I am a big believer in the mind body connection. I also feel that the food I put into my body can help me stay healthier. Now granted I didn't come to this knowledge until after my breast cancer treatment but better late than never is what I say!

Before my cancer diagnosis 10 years ago I never drank water, never ate veggies, and rarely ate fruit. I lived on diet soda filled with chemicals, prepared foods found in boxes and canned soups. Since then I have traded diet soda for water sometimes with a squeeze of lemon, eat fresh fruits and veggies and occasionally use a juicer. Don't get me wrong, I still do need my pizza and ice cream but try to keep that in moderation.

I was already interested in Sheryl Crow's new cookbook when I was contacted by her publisher to review her new cookbook. I have enjoyed Sheryl Crow's music for years and was inspired by her as a fellow breast cancer survivor. I was already interested in her new cookbook when I was recently contacted by her publisher to do a book review. As I have made significant changes to my own nutrition in my life as a cancer survivor I was curious to see what I could learn.

In the book Sheryl shares recipes created by her personal chef Chuck White. It is broken down into recipes for the seasons which was refreshing to see. I don't know about you but my apetite certainly changes from winter to summer. The book includes tons of recipes including appetizers, soups, snacks, main dishes, and some yummy desserts like the vegan chocolate-mint brownies and watermelon margaritas I am dying to try! It also encourages organic, local ingredients whenever possible which I think is important as well.

If you want to win a copy of Sheryl's new cookbook all you have to do is leave a comment below! That is it! I will be announcing the winner on Wednesday June 1st! Good luck!

PS . . . Feel free to share this blog post if you know any peeps that would be interested in the giveaway! :)

How Safe Are Your Personal Products??

Its no secret that I started really looking at what I was eating and what I was putting on my skin after my cancer experience. Part of it stems from an attempt to gain some kind of control after going through such an out of control experience. When I started on this journey I had no idea that the FDA does not regulate the cosmetics industry. That is scary to me. The industry can put anything they dam well please in your products. Things like parabens and sulfates are in many products and are chemicals that have been linked to cancer. Whatever you are putting on your skin (which is the largest organ we have) will seep into our bodies. I know it is a new way of thinking but I everyone should be aware and be more choosy about the products you are using. So read your labels and make more conscious choices . . . it will be better for your health and the environment!

Today I wanted to share a video called The Story of Cosmetics put together by the Story of Stuff Project. So take a few minutes and check it out! It will make you think twice about what you are putting on your skin!

Have you seen this video? What do you think? When you are shopping for personal care products do you read the label? Do you look for more natural products?

Fear . . . How Do You Deal?

That is the title of my guest blog post live today over at Jean's Cream Community Blog. Fear is something I have dealt with most of my life and I am sure many of you can relate. In this post I offer some tips on how I deal with fear.

Jean's Cream was created by a two time breast cancer survivor who wanted to help others deal with the side effects of radiation from cancer treatment as well as other various skin conditions. Their community blog is full of tips and inspiration for those affected by cancer. I was pleased to be asked to contribute to their blog.

You can check out my post here. Would love to hear your thoughts and comments!

I'm Sitting And I Can't Get Up. . .

That was what I spent most of this morning screaming to myself inside my head when I jumped off of the couch and felt a stabbing pain shoot down my right leg. As my right leg longed to buckle under me I thought to myself "Dear God just don't let me hit the floor!" And luckily I didn't. I grabbed the wall edge as my dog ran over and stared at me with a furrowed look on his face. He certainly was not going to be of any help to me. I was all alone. Somehow though I was able to hobble over to my couch to sit. Then the fear washed over me and tears ran streaming from my eyes. I felt frightened and sad.

I suddenly flashed back to when I was sick. To when I had cancer. I thought about how bad I felt in the hospital after cancer surgery being unable to walk on my own. I thought about having to sit on a shower chair and needing help to wash myself. And then I thought about being stuck on the couch after my first chemo treatment with a headache so bad I hoped I wouldn't die that night. I was all alone. The lonliness became palpable once again. And although I was thankful that this was nowhere near as bad it was enough to bring those sucky memories rushing back.

So I cried. And then cried some more. So much that I thought I would never stop. As I sat there on the couch I noticed the pain in my back was gone but I must have been crying over the pain in my heart. Crying over the fear. And it just snowballed from there.

As I sit here and write this I am feeling better. Partly thanks to Advil. And I am sure my crying fit did nothing to help the stress in my back muscles. I hate feeling this way. I haven't yet figured out how to handle the associated reactions better...

Have you ever experienced a flashback similar to this? How did you react? How did you handle the emotion?

Mascara Isn't Good Enough Anymore??

When I was going through chemo losing my hair was bad enough.  And then out came my eyelashes and eyebrows too.  Drawing on eyebrows was easy but the eyelash thing...not so much.  I was too lazy to try fake lashes (truth be told...I was too scared to glue something to my eyelid) so there I was facing the mirror with my mascara wand cursing as I tried to lengthen the one lash I had left.  I never had long luscious lashes so I used alot of black mascara to thicken them.  It was easy, it washed off, and wasn't dangerous.  Unless I poked myself in the eye with the mascara wand. 

So a few months ago when I caught the commercial starring Brooke Shields for that new medication  Latisse to lengthen lashes I had to wonder...why isn't mascara good enough anymore??  Then I wondered how dangerous it could be.  Seriously...a medication for eyelashes? Maybe its just me but that just seems a tad bit unnecessary.  It was hard to be without lashes for 6 months but I knew they would grow back.  And today my lashes are still very small and sparse.  But I am just glad they are back and I am certainly no stranger to mascara.  I think I will stick with that.   I have to wonder...are there really that many women for whom mascara isn't enough?

Did you loose your eyelashes during chemo?  How did you handle it?  Would you ever use something like Latisse to lengthen lashes after they grew back?  

Gray Area

Losing my hair to chemo was pretty devastating.  When it grew back I vowed to never color it again.  I had damaged it so much before cancer that I am surprised it didn't fall out then.  Last spring I started noticing a few too many new gray hairs cropping up.  I decided to go with highlights.  I wanted less chemicals going into my scalp and I figured that highlights could camouflage the gray areas.  

It has been almost a year since I caved and I have had it done one other time trying to stretch the root touch ups as much as I can but my hair grows like a chia pet. Nothing to complain about, I know.   The other day when I was drying my hair I noticed that there are broken pieces along the part.  Little spikes broken off at the grown out root.  This more than bothered me.  I wondered if I was the only one.  I wondered if I should continue. What I really wondered was could I stop and just go gray?

I had been pulling out my stray grays.   But now there are a few too many to use that as my solution.   I swore when my hair grew back I would just be happy to have hair.  That I would never complain about a bad hair day again.  And I usually don't.  Till now.   I know that compared to being bald this is nothing.  And then I wonder why it bothers me so.  

Would you ever go gray?  Are you concerned about chemicals in hair dye?  What is your solution?

Natural Cancer Cures

After my cancer treatment was over I started to explore  alternative ways to keep myself healthy.  I realized that my nutrition before cancer was pretty nonexistent!  No veggies, no water and barely any fruit. Forget vitamins.  Its no wonder I was always sick with infections and colds.  I just brushed it off because I worked in a hospital around germs 5 days a week not realizing that everyone else there wasn't constantly battling illness all the time like me!   These days  I drink tons of water, use a juicer, take supplements and have explored raw food.  I believe that what I eat helps to keep me well and that stress can also affect the health of my body.  That is what I struggle with more which is another topic to explore later on. Today I wanted to share info about this documentary I found.  I haven't seen it yet but the trailer has caught my interest.  It is about Gerson Therapy which is a natural treatment for many  diseases including cancer.  Its philosphy is "cleansing and reactivating" the body so that it may heal itself. 

Check out the trailer and let me know what you think!

Have you tried alternative methods to maintain your health or cure disease?      

Control

I long for the days when the word control for me was just the title to one of my favorite Janet songs circa 1986.  Back then I was a junior in high school and one of the few  problems I had at the time was finding a date for the prom which by the way was  unsuccessful.  I hadn't yet come in contact with one single person who had cancer.  I rarely ever thought of the word.  

Then bad things started happening.  My parents divorce when I was 18, my husbands death when I was 25, and thinking it couldn't get any worse, a diagnosis of cancer at only 31 years old.  I am not a controlling person perse when it comes to the people in my life.  The control freak in me comes out about things like my diet,  my daily routine, exercise or lack thereof, and obsessing over my health.  All of which stems from fear.   Fear of losing people close to me, fear of failure, fear of cancer recurrence and the list goes on.

The hardest part to control though is my mind and all the crazy thoughts running through it on a daily basis.  It is much easier for me to control what I eat and how much exercise I get in order for me to try and maintain my health.  If I miss a day with my juicer I get cranky and start obsessing not realizing that the obsessing is just as bad if not worse for me that just missing a juicing day.  I hate that it is hard for me to control bad thoughts.  

I know that immersing myself in what I love to do helps.  But getting those things started seem so overwhelming sometimes and I can't help but wonder why.  I wish it wasn't so hard for me.  Each day I try a little harder, each day I try to find myself amidst the mess in my head.  

How about you?  Would love to hear from those who can relate!