Keep Going Journals (review & giveaway)

October is a month in the pink....Breast Cancer Awareness. I have a few people very close to me who have gone through Breast Cancer, and survived! My aunt, who had Breast Cancer a few years ago, is currently fighting Lung Cancer. Cancer is such a horrible disease, and so many people deal with cancer of different forms. I just had Melanoma removed from my ear in May.
Energizer is teaming with the Susan G. Komen foundation to raise money for the Cure with the Keep Going Journals. The 80-page journal features inspirational quotes, a pink ribbon bookmark, convenient calendar and magnetic closure. For every journal redeemed, Energizer will donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. You can get your journals by mailing in three proofs of purchase from select Energizer batteries. For more information on getting a Keep Going journal, go to www.energizer.com/komen.
In addition to the journals, Energizer will be donating $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every new Facebook Fan, up to $10,000. Your readers can become a fan of the Energizer Bunny at www.facebook.com/energizerbunny.
I think this journal is super, and I fully intend on giving my copy to my aunt. I think it is a great place for her to journal her thoughts, struggles, victories, prayer requests, and more. Plus, I really think that the uplifting quotes will be encouraging!
Do you want to win one of these journals for yourself, or someone you know? Energizer has sent me an extra copy to giveaway to one of my readers! This giveaway is open to residents of the USA (bloggers/non-bloggers), and will end on November 6th, 2009. To enter, just leave a comment about this contest. You can come back once each day throughout the contest and enter again by just leaving a friendly comment relevant to the contest.**For extra chances you can: blog this contest, add my button to your site, subscribe to my blog, twitter this contest, and/or visit everyday and add another friendly comment. Lots of chances to win! Don't forget to put the extra comments for the "extra" work. Good luck!**

This review was sponsored by Energizer. They have supplied me with a free product to keep for my personal opinion and option to share with my readers. I was not compensated for my time or written review. They have offered to sponsor a giveaway for a prize for my readers.

Great Mother's Day Gift!!

I was very fortunate to review for a new jewelry online store and got myself a stunning Mother's Day bracelet! I love my new bracelet! I have each of my four kids initials on it, along with their birthstones! I have always wanted a bracelet with my children's names and birthstones on it, and Elisa Ilana made the perfect bracelet!
Elisa Ilana designs beautiful Mother's bracelet styles and customizes each one to fit your needs/wants. I love that Elisa Ilana makes their jewelry with sterling silver and 14 Karat Gold. The stones used with the jewelery are semi precious stones. The different designs on the beads are so pretty! I love the selection of them! The Emerald stones seem a bit lighter than the dark, rich color Emeralds have, but that just may be the way the stones are. I wear my bracelet almost daily, even though it looks more like something I should wear while dressed up. I just love it that much!
To make a bracelet like I have you just go to the Mother's Bracelet's section and then click on the style #237376. Then you just select how many strands you would like, type in the names/initials of your child, select their birthstones, and pick the measurement of your wrist for sizing. It was easy to pick out the selections I wanted for my bracelet. I would like to mention how quick the service was with Elisa Ilana, too!
Elisa Ilana is not only known for their custom jewelry, they are also widely known for their support of cancer research and cancer awareness through their cancer awareness collection. The Cancer Awareness Bracelet is seen in In Style, Vogue, W, Bon Appetit, Vanity Fair, Lucky, Architectural Digest and others! Elisa Ilana also offers prostate cancer, aids, American Heart Association, and breast cancer awareness jewelry!
Elisa Ilana has created and sold handcrafted jewelry since 1996, and each piece is carefully made by hand in Omaha, Nebraska. You can find them in the Mall called Westroads in Omaha, or you can see them at an art show. They use the finest metals, semi-precious stones, crystals, and lamp work beads available.
So, if you would like to create/design a special bracelet for your Mother's Day gift, or any other gift for someone special....let Elisa Ilana create your gift!

I am not my Breast Cancer: A Book Review

I Am Not My Breast Cancer is a book that has a compilation of more than 800 women discussing their fears, trade advice, experiences, and their deep and intimate concerns. These women come from every state in the nation and from continents as far away as Australia and Africa. There is no other book like this out there. I Am Not My Breast Cancer offers women the companionship of other women dealing with this disease. Ruth Peltason has undergone treatment for breast cancer two times! In the book she reveals the stages of the cancer journey...from diagnosis, treatment, recovery and self-discovery. The people in the book are very honest and share their deepest emotions. I think it is amazing that the women in this book range in ages from their early twenties to late seventies! I am 31, and I don't often think of Breast Cancer. I know it is out there, I just think "It wouldn't happen to me." I like how this book really helps the reader to come to a greater understanding of what women go through when they have Breast Cancer. It really opens the reader's eyes. The women who voiced there mind in the book talk about so many topics, including: losing their hair, being a patient/Mom/wife/co-worker, lovemaking and intimacy, weight gain and more. I like how this book makes it very clear that Breast Cancer doesn't have a hold on these women, and that the cancer does not define who they are. "I am not my breast, and I am not cancer; they are only pieces of who I am. What is my heart like, am I kind, strong, loving, compassionate. . . . Those are the things that count." Some women really hate the pink ribbons...they would prefer black ones. I think they see pink as pretty and Breast Cancer is not pretty. Another thought is on the body image. One woman wrote, "It disturbs me to see magazines, TV, and other types of ads using women with large breasts in revealing clothing as the way to enhance sales of their products." I think that is a good point regardless of Breast Cancer, but she makes a good point. It is kind of like throwing it in their face. I love how this book just really peeks into the minds of those who have gone through it. I think one of the toughest things (for me) would be going through it while our kids are young. That part of the book just really hit home for me.

This book was mainly inspired from the author, Ruth Peltason and 800 women who participated in First Person Plural. First Person Plural is a discussion forum online where these women joined together to create a powerful community where they could share and understand what they were fighting. Ruth had wished that a book of this caliber was around when she was going through Breast Cancer.
I think this book is a great tool to use for anyone going through Cancer, or knows someone who is going through it. It is inspiring, heart wrenching, comical, sad, bold, courageous, and very real. It is a great self-help book, but not a medical guide. I think this book really helps a person better understand how to just be a friend to someone struggling with the disease. It really is hard to know what to say or what to do when you haven't been there yourself. I really like how this book gives you a sense of what it is and what it does to the person going through Breast Cancer.

Do you want a copy of I AM NOT MY BREAST CANCER? You can purchase your copy at Amazon: here plus s&h.