Some of you know that my mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and underwent radiation. (Her last mammogram was normal. Hurrah!) I also had a breast cancer scare last year and a lumpectomy but thankfully I was cancer free. The tissue removed from my right breast was just fibrocystic tissue. I’ve got a scar to serve as a reminder that I am healthy and for that I am eternally grateful.

One of my husband’s clients, Kendall, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She had no symptoms; just pain, which is very unusual for breast cancer. It’s truly a miracle that she kept feeling something was not quite right and kept pursuing it. She is a mother to three young children and underwent a double mastectomy. She’s going to be taking a new test drug, in addition to chemo, which she just started. Kendall is a fighter. Her positive, fighting attitude is amazing and inspirational.

On her CaringBridge Journal, Kendall just wrote about a young mother from Middle Tennessee who lost her life to breast cancer last fall. In her honor, her husband has launched a campaign to have a specialty breast cancer license plate issued for the state of Tennessee. 1,000 signatures are needed (with a committment of $35); the deadline is June 30. Tennessee apparently is the only state without a breast cancer awareness specialty plate.

The Greater Nashville Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization is also supporting the specialty license campaign. Proceeds from the new specialty plate will benefit the six Susan G. Komen chapters in Tennessee; the funds will be used to support treatment and educational programs.

Here’s a news interview with Kendall by local NBC affiliate WSMV.

Get some retail therapy and support a great cause! Kendall is having a sidewalk sale at her very cute shop, You’re Invited.

One of my husband’s clients lost his daughter, Anna, on Monday night. Although she had epilepsy, she was doing very well with treatment. She died unexpectedly in her sleep at their home. The family had just taken a trip to Disney World and although I did not know Anna, I hear she was your typical 6-year-old little girl who loved princesses and playing dress up and spending time with her brothers and mom and dad.

I can’t imagine the heartbreak they are experiencing.

I don’t know the story behind this beautiful photo of Anna, but her dad has a copy of it hanging in his office. Miss C saw it and asked if Anna was an angel. I definitely think so.

My husband helped set up a website for an organization founded by her parents and named in her honor, which raises money for research and awareness about epilepsy. Here is the link.

The hubby shared this news story with me, prefaced by, “you so need to blog this.”

Our hometown is in a national competition to become one of 16 cities named Springfield to vie for the chance to host the hometown opening of The Simpsons movie in July.

But that’s not what’s really got me excited about this whole breaking news story. The crowning glory is the fact that the once gravel road I grew up on, Homer Worsham Road, (cue the dueling banjos melody), the road I drove my 1986 Chrysler Laser on like a bat out of hell to town and back during my senior year of high school, may be renamed Homer Simpson Road for the day.

Now that is something to be proud of.

Too bad we don’t have a son or I’d be tempted to name him Homer for the day.

D’oh!

Heard only on Nashville radio this morning:

Radio personality #1: “Did you touch an udder?”

Radio personality #2: “No I did not.”

Radio personality #1: “But you wanted to, right?”

Hey speaking of Nashville, HOW ‘BOUT THEM TITANS?!? Did anyone else see their comeback yesterday? It’s being hailed as their second Music City Miracle (which the hubby and I saw at the coliseum in 1999.) With less than 13 minutes left to play we were losing 21 to nothing, but the Titans rallied to beat the New York Giants 24 to 21 on the home field in the biggest fourth quarter comeback in the history of the Oilers/Titans. There was much jumping up and down and shaking of pom poms at our house (well the hubby did not shake pom poms, only the girls and I were playing cheerleader with our giveaway pom poms from a recent game.)

I also realized this morning that I only have 15 more days to work between now and the end of the year…yet another reason to get my happy on.

Edited to add: OK, OK my hubby made note that I have the wrong date for the Music City Miracle. It was the 1999 season BUT it took place during a January 2000 playoff game. Ahem. What were you expecting here, any way, ESPN?

Wow…what a day. It’s been almost eight years since a tornado killed a Vanderbilt student here in Nashville and left a trail of damage, particularly in historic East Nashville. I was working at Vanderbilt University at the time. My office was being renovated so I was in a temporary building seven stories up with a direct view of the downtown skyline. I was going to walk to the campus bookstore that afternoon, but changed my mind when I looked out at the ominous clouds. I remember seeing debris flying in the air and the next minute our receptionist coming in and saying somewhat frantically, “Guys, there’s a tornado…get in the stairwell. It’s here.” The hubby was west of downtown and saw the odd green color in the sky and heard the warnings and headed toward campus to make sure I was OK as the phone system was haywire for a while. So far there are 11 confirmed deaths from today’s tornadoes here Tennessee; the majority of fatalities were in Sumner County, which is north of Nashville. We are under a tornado watch until 4 a.m. Of course, the weather and storm damage dominated the local news and Caitlin couldn’t understand why mama wanted to watch the weather and she couldn’t watch Dora. Our tornado plan? Get in the bathtub and put the crib mattress over us. The hubby even shut down his shop around 4 as well as the servers. (He has a computer services business.)

Here’s a screen shot from our TV this afternoon. I’ve lived here my entire life and never heard of these towns, but they do fit the Southern stereotypical small town names, don’t they?

Ricky the Santa Monkey

Originally uploaded by jamiereeves.

Santa Claus and his elves arrived at Bellevue Center mall today but the question everyone is asking is “Will Ricky the Santa monkey be there?” or did PETA shut down Ricky’s tour at the mall?

The hubby, sporting his annual winter bearded man look, took Caitlin to the mall last December and returned with this picture and one happy 2-year-old. I laughed so hard I started crying and it takes a lot to make me laugh like that!

We drove down West End Avenue today to see the Shrine Circus and Houston’s restaurant is completely GONE. It’s been bulldozed. I knew it was closing, but wasn’t prepared to see a big pile of rubble. I went there for junior prom in 1986. Rio Bravo on West End, almost directly across the street has also been bulldozed (I just read in the City Paper it will now be site of a Stoney River Steaks). It will be interesting to see if Houston’s will be replaced with another restaurant or an office building. I will miss Houston’s as well as Blue Moon Waterfront Cafe, which closed earlier this year. The Cooker on West End also closed this year (I enjoyed a lot of lunch hours on West End with my Brat Pack friends when I worked at Vanderbilt) and is now a J Alexanders.