Having lost her own mother to breast cancer at a very young age, my mom was diligent, if not militant, about getting a mammogram EVERY year.

A couple of years ago, she noticed a little indent in her breast when she raised her arms.  She immediately went to her doctor, who did a manual breast exam.  He said there’s something there, but it doesn’t feel bad, and that she shouldn’t worry.  He then sent her to get a mammogram and an ultrasound.  The radiologist also clearly saw something there, but again, he didn’t think it looked bad.  The doctors did a needle biopsy which came back negative.  She got the all clear.  As a final precaution, the doctor decided that regardless of what it was, that it shouldn’t be there, so he performed a lumpectomy.

When my mom came back to the doctor’s office to have the stitches removed and discuss the findings about the lump, her life turned upside down.  I clearly remember receiving that phone call and not being able to do anything, paralyzed by the fear of losing my mom.

My mom, however, was not paralyzed.  She faced her diagnosis head on and showed me just how strong of a woman she truly is.

Mom went through five months of chemotherapy, from summer until the week of Christmas.  She had a double mastectomy in late winter.  At the time, her doctor told her that she could just have one breast removed and a few lymph nodes, but she decided to have both breasts removed.  After the surgery, we found out that the cancer had already spread to her other breast, as well as her lymph nodes.  After the surgery and before she even had a chance to heal completely, Mom started radiation.  Every day for five weeks, my mom endured the treatment, which left her body the color of a tomato and covered in blisters.

And now, she is a Survivor.  She lost weight, she lost hair, and she lost her physical strength.  But throughout this terrible journey, she never lost her spirit.  My mom is an inspiration and I am proud to walk in her honor.

But I can’t walk without your help.  Please consider making a donation to my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer fundraising campaign!  You can make the difference for someone today.

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Hudson David Miller (finally) joined us on March 1, 2011, at 12:29am, weighing in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces. Mother and family are delighted to report that labor was very quick and uneventful–although it gave me completely unrealistic expectations about giving birth.

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Hillary, my best bud from high school, is having a baby any day now!

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Jason and I took her and hubby Joel out to lunch yesterday to celebrate her birthday, all the while making her walk and eat spicy foods and such to trigger Baby Miller’s birth day.

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She was having contractions every five minutes for several hours, but it turned out to be a false alarm.  Anyone have any suggestions for moving the process along?

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In a previous life I kept a blog.  Over about a six year course it covered the kind of things you would imagine a young women in her early twenties would find fascinating.  After I took the bar exam, the blog moved to a dusty shelf and I stopped writing completely.  As of today, that hiatus is over.

The topics will change constantly, because that’s just how life works.  I am often offended by people’s stupidity, so there will be posts containing a considerable amount of “ventilation.”  Three years and 20lbs after I moved to Napa, I can say that I truly appreciate good food and fine wine, so there will be a fair amount of restaurant reviews around here.  I keep my ear to the ground, so there may be a few gossipy political/business/legal things around here as well.  I can’t help myself sometimes.

And I like to take pictures.  You’ll find them here.

Make yourself comfortable.  The garbage man comes on Thursdays, the bills get paid at the beginning of the month, and don’t forget to let the dog out.