Before I get faffy, can I be serious for a minute?
It's October. Pinktober. The month of pinkwashing. We're inundated with products that have been slapped with a pink ribbon and we're made to feel like buying these products is "spreading breast cancer awareness" (like we're not all very aware of breast cancer). The reality is that the pink ribbon symbol isn't regulated. Anyone can put a pink ribbon on anything. And they do. And we buy pink ribbon products because we feel helpless against a brutal disease and it makes us feel like we're doing something useful.
Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't buy pink ribbon products. People choose to show their support in different ways and if pink ribbon shoelaces or toques or buckets of fried chicken (seriously) is your choice, more power to you. What I'm saying is, if you want to contribute directly to breast cancer research, there are better venues. And if you want to contribute directly to breast cancer patients, there are better options.
Which brings me to my friend Colby. Colby is my age. She's a single mom raising two beautiful babies. She's a full-time nursing student who lives on student loans. Colby was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. In the coming weeks she is facing surgery and from there her doctors will decide her chemo/radiation future. She's also writing her final exams.
I've never seen Colby without a smile on her face. She radiates happiness and kindness. She's stunningly beautiful but not intimidating in the least because her goofy quirks pull you in and make you feel like you're one of the cool kids. She works hard and makes tough choices and doesn't complain. She would never ask for help. So her friends are asking for help on her behalf.
If you've got $5, $10, $100 to spare (hey a girl can dream, right?) will you please consider contributing to Colby's gofundme campaign? Colby needs to focus all her energy on getting well and regaining her strength after treatment. She shouldn't be worried about bill payments or buying groceries to feed her family. Well wishes and healthy vibes are also very welcome.
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Right! Let's faff.
Last weekend I was complaining on Twitter about the cold-that-will-not-die and Gayle from The Soup Solution reached out to offer me some soup. It was totally unexpected and kind, and her soups are so tasty, that I need to gush about it for a minute. Social media can be so noisy and you can get sort of lost in it sometimes, you know? And then someone reaches out and says "hey! I see you!" and reminds you that the community there still exists, you just have to dig through the sponsored posts and ads a little bit. Anyway. If you're local, I totally recommend The Soup Solution. Great soup. Great people. A+.
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Erin Condren is having a huge sale so now is the time to buy your Life Planner if you haven't already. I'm a huge Life Planner fan and don't think I'll ever give up my paper planner. If you use my referral code, I'll earn Erin Condren bucks so *bats eyelashes* please, pretty please use this link to do your Erin Condren shopping and use FRIENDS25 for 25% off your purchase through October 25th.
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My friend Taslim wrote about her definition of success and I keep coming back to it to read it again and again. She's a smart lady and she's definitely got the hamster wheel in my brain spinning this week. How do you define your success?
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We're supposed to have some sun this weekend so I should probably take Grady to the pumpkin patch for some seasonal fun. What are you up to this weekend?