Satisfaction: Priceless

Here's an oldie, a post from a defunct blog that I wrote in back in 2007. My path is getting wider.

I've discovered that the act of accomplishing earning money online is even more exciting than actually receiving said money.

I got a check in the mail yesterday for an affiliate commission earned via one of my blogs. I received an email this morning notifying me of yet another commission that I earned via a different blog.

While the combination of those two commissions might buy groceries for a day, maybe, the satisfaction that I feel right now is absolutely priceless. I feel that all the work I've done, all the failures along the way, are so worth it now that I have finally narrowed the online superhighway down to my very own little dirt path, which is starting to get wider and wider and one day may actually be paved with gold commission checks.

Don't Put that Doctor Visit Off! It Could be Cancer!

So many people have cheered for me and prayed me through my treatment for anal cancer. Now I'm better and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

Now, I want you to read this and pay attention. If you are having any symptoms with your bowels, any change at all in stooling habits (such as new-onset constipation) or stool character (thinner stool, blood in the stool), I want you to get up right now and go call and make an appointment with your doctor. Chances are you're just fine and maybe a change in diet would help get things back to normal. But maybe there's something else wrong. Either way, you won't know unless you get checked by a doctor.

Don't be afraid of having a colonoscopy. They're absolutely painless and no big deal. Yes, the prep the night before isn't very pleasant, but you can do ANYTHING for a day. I had radiation treatments for 33 days and I survived that one day at a time. You can do it!

Colorectal cancer, when caught early, is very curable. Anal cancer is highly curable and the treatment is relatively short. Putting off a diagnosis could cost you your life. Don't have medical insurance? Call anyway. I still don't have medical insurance and we have huge bills, but there was never any question about my being treated and the doctors and hospital are helping us with the bills and have been amazingly kind and friendly to work with.

Don't let fear of the unknown cut your life short. Take care of your health - starting today. Do it for yourself , you family, and for the Cancer Warrior!

Another Happy Valentine's Day

I'm spending the day with my sweetie, who brought me this gorgeous red rose on Friday. It smells beautiful, too.

Funny that we bought each other almost identical Valentine cards, from the picture to the message. Guess that's what happens after thirty years of Valentine's Days together; our two heads have coordinated their brain waves.

Hope your day is sweet, too!

Avatar: Do the Math and it's Gone With the Wind

I read this morning that Avatar isn't really the top money-making movie of all time. Of course that headline caught my eye - I was curious why every news source I was aware of said that Avatar had passed Titanic and I wanted to know who had been lying to whom.

Well, turns out that when you apply inflation to the equation, Avatar is a measly number 21 on the list of all-time money-making movies. And why not apply inflation? Seems fair enough to me and it also puts the movie-watching population, along with old-fashioned movies, in a whole new light, at least in my mind.

Think of the really popular movies that you used to go see. If you're around my age, Star Wars might come to mind, along with Jaws and The Sound of Music. If you're a bit younger, you might remember Forrest Gump or even The Godfather. Now go look at Armchair Commentary's list of top box office hits list, adjusted for inflation, and you'll find all of these movies listed, with Gone With the Wind topping the list.

I have nothing against 3D sci-fi movies, and Avatar apparently is an exceptionally good one even though it doesn't appeal to me, but the adjusted list makes this baby boomer feel not so out of touch with what makes a movie a really good movie. Apparently it really is more than just the price of the ticket.

P.S. None of my top five favorite movies made the list, but there are a few on the list that definitely could be in my personal top 10!

Have Fun Walking

I'm gearing up for an exercise routine to get myself back in shape after my illness. Walking is the best exercise, and walking up stairs is excellent exercise. This video makes me wish I could convert the stairway in my home. Won't be happening anytime soon, but imagine the possibilities! Thanks to Diana Walker, The Cravings Coach, for the video link.

Cancer Warrior's Goal: Good Health in 2010

Happy 2010! Don't know about you, but I'm glad to see the old year go and excited about what lies ahead in the new year. I've been working on my business goals for this year, but I also have personal goals, goals that I've decided to share here.

I haven't posted here about what I've been going through for the last couple of months, but since this is my personal blog I guess I should. Since November 11, 2009, I've been undergoing treatment for anal cancer. As cancer treatments go, mine was short. In fact, my last treatment was December 30th. You can imagine how excited I was to leave 2009 behind as I reserve 2010 for healing.

I've had a ton of support from people I know online, as well as from family and friends, and there is no doubt in my mind that their prayers are what have enabled me to do as well as I've done with treatment. As we go into the new year and I wait for scans in a few weeks to see how well the treatment worked, I'll admit that there is apprehension there, though with your help I am claiming victory and setting good health as a goal.

As winter turns into spring, I'm looking forward to my body gaining strength and my hair thickening up again (my formerly-thick hair now looks like a moth-eaten sweater, but at least it didn't all fall out). You can be sure that I'll be paying attention to every warm day and green sprig that pops up from the cold ground, expecting that my energy will increase as the weather warms up. In the meantime, though, there are the cold days of January to get through and I hope you'll send up a prayer for energy for me to do something each day to help reach my goal of noticeably-improved health by the time the forsythia bloom.

Thanks for joining the Cancer Warrior team and helping to pray me to good health in 2010!

My Woody Hayes Story

It's a perfect September Saturday afternoon, I'm watching college football, and I happen to think of the time I met Woody Hayes.

One evening many years ago I was at Ohio State, after a class, walking down a long hallway when I saw someone approaching me. It was Coach Hayes himself. Just him and me, he and I, in that long hall. I'm sure my eyes got bigger as the distance between us grew shorter. (Can something grow shorter? I wasn't thinking very clearly then, either.)

"Hello, Coach," is what I was finally able to stamnmer as we met, then passed each other. "Hello." Or some such. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I guess that's what it was. When you're in the presence of a living legend, it's hard enough to talk, let alone listen. It was in a friendly tone, though, I know that. And I was relieved that he seemed to be in a good mood.

I related this story to someone on an online forum a couple of years ago, someone who is an absolutely die-hard Ohio State Buckeyes fan. He responded with something like this: "No disrespect intended, but that must have been a little bit like meeting God himself." I had to laugh, but I understood what he meant. It's a moment I'll never forget, that's for sure.

Go Buckeyes! Fight to the end for O-HI-O!

(Photo from the OSU Archives, courtesy Bucknuts)

Patriotism Revisited

The good part (the only good part) of 9-11 in 2001 was the wave of patriotism that followed. Remember the full-page flags printed in your hometown's newspaper? The "Never Forget" stickers and magnets stuck on car windows and bumpers, soon followed by the "Pray for Our Troops" yellow ribbons that it seemed everyone displayed?

What happened to all that? As the newspaper flags faded and the magnets floated away in car washes, patriotism seemed to fall out of fashion.

Until recently.

Seems like it takes a crisis to spur our citizens to patriotic action. Lately, many have noticed that there's a crisis going on and are beginning, once again, to fly the red, white, and blue, this time on protest signs, in speeches, and in letters to the editor. The current crisis started long before 9-11-2001, but it has reached such a fever pitch recently that patriotic Americans in the know have decided it's about time to do something about it. They've organized and are starting to attract attention. They're beginning to take action to bring the crisis, the crisis of big government and blindly-complacent citizens, to the attention of everyone. Even the mainstream media can no longer ignore - or worse, misrepresent - tea parties and marches on our nation's capital. Patriotic voices are beginning to be heard once again, this time with more substance than a paper flag.

The word is getting out. Our government is too big. Lawmakers, led by the executive branch, are giddy with greed for power, the power to control the lives of our citizens.

If you are a patriotic American, do more than fly your flag. Get informed. Speak out. Stand up for the rights that our forefathers so wisely laid out for us. Learn how many of those rights have been taken over by the government and demand that lawmakers reverse course now, before it's too late!

Start reading here, and here. Open your eyes and your mind to the truth.

Julie & Julia

We went to see the movie "Julie & Julia" last night. I loved it and my husband enjoyed it, too. He got a kick out of seeing Meryl Streep's rendition of Julia Child, which was amazingly good and even better than Dan Akyrod's. ("Save the liver!")

The movie was totally charming, flowing back and forth between Julia's and Julie's lives flawlessly, I thought. I rarely buy movies on DVD, but this is one I might just have to add to my tiny collection.

I definitely understand why Mastering the Art of French Cooking is selling like hotcakes right now. Besides the vintage copies going for beaucoup bucks on eBay, the book is #1 on Amazon's bestseller list, with 25 days so far in their top 100. I'm thinking that it's at its peak right now and will start to drop soon, but Julia Child's 100th birthday in a few years (August 15, 2012, mark it on your calendar) should likely pique interest in her books again.

I may have to borrow a copy from the library as I now have a very strong urge to bone a duck, à la Julia Child.