I can't tell you how many times I said to my mom "I'm always the last to find out."  She would reply "Well, if you would move closer to home then you might hear it sooner."  She wasn't bashful of sharing how much she hated the time when we lived in Los Angeles...

While it was easy to ask about when a wedding was scheduled for or when a baby was due, it was much more difficult to bridge into conversation about more serious issues, like health concerns.  As an example, one of my aunts here in Iowa was diagnosed with breast cancer while I was living in Los Angeles.  I wasn't around to see what she endured and I've never felt comfortable bringing it up.  All I know is that she persevered and is one of the positive statistics... a cancer survivor.

When Mom Central asked bloggers to spread the word about Look Good...Feel Better, I realized that I never really gave much thought to whether she suffered the side effects common to chemotherapy.  Look Good...Feel Better is a not-for-profit organization that helps cancer victims deal with the image issues resulting from cancer treatments.   It started when the president of the Personal Care Products Council inquired about getting a make-over for a woman so depressed as a result of her cancer side-effects. When they saw the transformation that the make-over had, emotionally more-so than physically, they committed to creating the Look Good...Feel Better program.  In conjunction with their 20th Anniversary Celebration, they are sponsoring a contest for program graduates and cancer survivors.  Five women will be selected as the "Women of Hope is Beautiful".  According to the rules, the contest will be open until August 15th and the five winners will receive a trip for one to New York, NY to attend the DreamBall on September 24, 2009. If you know someone dealing with cancer, check out the Look Good...Feel Better website.  If you know of a cancer survivor with a compelling story, have them enter the contest!

The fight against cancer doesn't stop there!  Electrolux is doing their part but needs your help. For every lemonade stand opened at Electrolux Appliances or Kelly Confidential, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (with a minimum of 10k and a maximum of 15k).  Virtual vendors will be entered into a drawing to win an Electrolux French Door Refrigerator as will people who decide to make a donation.  Actually, they are giving away three - read the contest details for all the scoop.  Sound too complicated?  Nah. I set my lemonade stand up in just a few minutes.  You name it, select the colors, pick some lemonade recipes and, click, you're done.  Go check mine out... it doesn't cost anything to window shop at Nicole's Lemonade Stand.  It's such an easy process and such a great cause, it's worth taking a few minutes out of your schedule to set one up.  You never know... you may win yourself an Electrolux refrigerator as a bonus!

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