yusuf islam (cat stevens) - don't be shy

love is where all of us belong

aaron lee tasjan - love's the only way

WAR IS OVER! (if you want it)

need some serious advice about a close friend

hey there punks and kittens~
i need some advice, help, something. a friend that is very very very dear to me, (we have been friends, literally, since before i can remember), found a lump in her armpit/breast area. she said it has been very painful. she does not have insurance, so she has been hesitant about going to the doctor. well, i adore this little lady and tried and tried to get her to just go, and we would figure out how to pay the doctor bills later. i didnt feel this was something to be taken lightly. a couple of weeks went by, and she still didnt go to the doctor. so, i called one of my doctors, pretended i was her, asked if they were taking mew patients, and made an appointment. i was able to get her to go to this appointment (prolly because i rode with her and wouldnt let her out of it). doctor said that there are actually 2 lumps. she said with the sick kids in the house, maybe she could have swollen lymph nodes. but that with the length of time they've been there, she should have a mammogram and possibly further testing. doctor said that the mammogram would be quite expensive without insurance, so she told her of a couple place that will do it based-on-income or free. well, it has been 45 days (since the dr appointment) and she has not been to any of these places for a mammogram AND she canceled her follow-up appointments with my doctor. i dont know what to do. she claims that one of the lumps seems to be gone. i just dont know what to do. when i was out this morning, i saw one of our mutual friends, and she asked about the results. i told her what is written above. i told her that if she could mention it or do anything to help me convince her, please help! do any of you have ANY thoughts or words of advice for me? i dont know if she is scared or what, but she has always been around to harp on me about getting myself healthy, so i dont understand why she wont take her own advice?! please please please if you have any ideas, i'll gladly hear them all! might i add, there has been a history of this sort of thing in her family. from what i understand, one of her cousins has had 4 lumps removed (over time) from the same area.
thanks so much for taking the time to read this and if you can offer any thoughts, advice, prayers... we would be so very grateful!
also, PLEASE, if you know who i am talking about, PLEASE DO NOT MENTION HER NAME IF YOU LEAVE A PUBLIC COMMENT! i am trying to respect her privacy... but if you see her in person, i wouldnt stop you if you mention that you care about her and she should get help. also, i will prolly print any comments i get, and show them to her. ah ha! intervention?! we'll see how far this goes.
thanks again!
much love!
be well!
~angela

i guess the lord must be in nyc

Pa's mother passed away... and a note from me

I know it has been a while since I last updated. A lot has been going on... I just havent had time to sit down and complete the post I started a couple of weeks ago. With that aside for now, I wanted to let you know that my Pa's mother passed away on Friday.

For those of you that dont know, Brian is my "stepdad". I call him "Pa" and have let the "stepdad" title only be used to differentiate him from my Dad/Biological father to those that dont know them. But I am happy to say that I was lucky enough to get 2 dads in my life!

On a sadder note...
Here is the obituary that Pa and his family wrote for his mother who passed away on Friday http://tinyurl.com/Norma-Reed

If you would like to send a card, please let me know and I will private message you Brian's address. Or, if you would just like to send a quick email, I will print it and take it to him.

Also, I would like to note that as far as I have heard, Brian and only a couple of his siblings are able to help pay for Norma's services and funeral. I am not sure how much of this he would want me to share, but I would really like to help him (them) and I dont know how else to do that other than, well, to ask for help. The services and funeral are just shy of $10,000. We all know how tight things are right now. Heck, just in general, I cant believe how much they charge for all of the arrangements being made. Taking advantage of people, especially when they are going through something tragic like this, is just sick to me.

Brian and his sister, Connie, were able to find a funeral home that will allow them to make payment arrangements. However, payment arrangements or not, the bill is still almost $10,000 and that is a lot for anyone these days. We were not sure how to word it in the obituary, but if you would like to, and are able to, make donations to the cost of Norma's funeral, we would appreciate it more than we could ever express. I dont want to post their address online. But you can send me an email or note and I will private message you their address.

Thanks in advance if you are able to help - in any way! Even just happy prayers and thoughts are wonderful! I have told Brian about all of the comments and well wishes I have received on behalf of his family and friends. Brian is one of the sweetest, gentlest, kindest, most family-oriented people I have ever known. And I can 100% say he is THE most honest person I have known in my entire life. I am proud to call him my Pa. And it aches beyond measure that I cant take away his sadness and suffering of the loss of his mother.

Thank you for your love and condolences.
Much love.
Be Well.
~Angela