Catching my Breath

Crazy schedule has not calmed down. But I did have a little time today to think about the fact that in a mere 3 months I will be in France. On another of our wonderful, relaxing, tasty, wine-drenched Words & Wine trips!!

And then that caused me to go...."holy crap, 3 months away?? We're in charge of this thing. We've got to get the itinerary to folks!!" So uh...this blog fell by the wayside. But you can check out part of the itinerary that's getting firmed up and looking good ("holy crap, I only have 3 months to do that myself!!") over at http://wordsandwinellc.blogspot.com 
And in the next few days, Chris should have all the info and the full itinerary on the Wordsandwine.com website. (We still have a few spots left for some wine-lovers to join the tour!). Hey, I wonder if this means life is sort of returning to a pre-cancer normal? Now there's a thought!

I'll be back blogging over here soon...I hope.

(P.S. photo is Chris and pre-cancer/chemo Teresa on the first Words & Wine trip...August 2006. Awwww...)

Two Steps Forward...Two, Maybe Three Back

Alrighty then...so I've made it 2/3 of the way through my volunteer gauntlet. The Shop to Stop Breast Cancer was a big success (that's me with Roryann Clements and Sheena Meder at the event) and a fun evening. Both of my client seminars also went well. And this morning was the Walk With the Animals followed by Sheena and Ronaldo's housewarming party (luckily, dogs were invited too so we just went from one event to the next). You can see just how much Seamus enjoyed his day--this is him at the Walk with the Animals  pancake breakfast (syrup on the paws...yummy, and not at all messy.) He was much better behaved here than he was later at the housewarming where he barked at guests until they fed him. And they all fed him.

So what should have been left on my itinerary was just Alternatives to Domestic Violence's Professionals and Community Leaders Luncheon of which I am the chairperson with a few speaking duties. That's Tuesday and would have been the end of my crazy stretch of over-doing it.

But no. I failed to say "no" once again. So Wednesday night I will serve as co-auctioneer at the Chamber of Commerce Inaugural Ball. Two reasons I couldn't say no (beyond the usual failure to recall that word): 1) Jack Clarke asked me to be the Co M.C. and usually its me dragging him into things, so I owed him one, and 2) the party theme is "It's 5 o'clock Somewhere"/ Jimmy Buffett style and I'm a huge JB fan. I'm rationalizing this by saying it's only a small part. I'm not organizing it, I'm not selling tickets and I'm not really responsible for anything. Yeah, that's how I'm rationalizing it.

Then at the Walk with the Animals today I was approached by someone from the "Bark for Life" American Cancer Society fundraising event. A dog walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Given that Seamus and I are both cancer survivors she wanted me to speak at the event this summer. I will admit, I find that one hard to pass up. It's like it's an event perfectly aligned with this blog. And it's not until June! We'll see if she follows up with me, but yeah, I may have done it again.

The other step backward is the fact that I'm not going to the memoir writing class tomorrow. I'm going to work instead. I really need to get some work cranked out and the class takes place smack in the middle of my most productive time (2 to 4pm).  I'm sad about that, but it's what I have to do right now. The fact that I will miss this class, and the way I felt after the non-profit events this week (generally grumpy and a little irritated) should be enough to help me keep my resolution to step away from the volunteerism. In stark contrast, I felt great after my two client seminars and yesterday when I worked at home and got organized enough to know I need to spend Sunday in the office and it didn't make me grumpy as much as just motivated. Hmmm..

Oh, and by telling you all about it, I'm hoping to shame myself into just saying no. Keep me on it, will ya?

P.S. Hating my hair these days, but there it is in the Shop to Stop photo. Too long to be edgy/stylish/ short and too short to really style into anything. I've moved from toddler hair to 6 year old boy.

Slow Learner

Remember how I wasn't sure if I had had a "breast cancer survivor's epiphany" or not after I finished surgery, chemo and radiation? And then remember how I thought maybe I had because I learned a little about prioritizing my time (click here if you need a refresher)? When I went through the breast cancer odyssey I pretty much reduced my life to work and taking care of my health. And wow, I had all this time on my hands and the whole big world, my little town, my little world and pretty much everything else went on just fine without me. Huh. Post-treatment I ramped back up (dork!) and then suddenly hit a wall with way, way too much stuff going on and that's when I had the little epiphany about time management and prioritizing what was important to me. I scheduled things so I had time to exercise, read, write, and still work quite a bit (I am still building a business). Cue the maniacal laughter.

Old habits die hard. And it seems I did it again.

Today, Chris and Brein Clements (genius chef and proprietor of Restaurant Omakase) are down in San Diego at a Family Winemakers tasting event. I was supposed to go but couldn't. Because I, (once I finish blogging and am sufficiently amped on coffee) will be heading into my office to try to get a jump start on the week. Because my schedule has and will in the immediate future look like this:

Wednesday the 10th: film public service announcement for the Riverside Public Library Foundation (I'm on the board)

 Friday the 12th : in Burbank all day at a conference for work (where I also volunteered to serve on a committee).

Saturday the 13th: 1st birthday party for my assistant's son, followed by several hours in the office

Monday: Shop to Stop Breast Cancer event; I'm the honorary chair and am supposed to say something to the room of 200 women and I bet they expect something inspirational or at least moderately coherent. (Must figure this out today).

Tuesday evening : Seminar for my clients about the 2010 estate tax laws and other fascinating bits. Again, I think they'll expect me to be coherent (must figure this out today).

Wednesday evening: meeting with city manager (on a client's behalf). Probably good if I'm coherent.

Thurs a.m.: breakfast seminar for clients (see Tuesday evening and general need for coherency)

Saturday: Walk With the Animals (fundraiser for the Riverside Humane Society)--I am the master of ceremonies and will need to be there for the day.

Sunday: memoir writing class at the Mission Inn (okay, this one actually should be on the list!!).

Tuesday the 23rd: Professionals and Community Leaders luncheon for the benefit of Alternatives to Domestic Violence (I'm the chairperson of the lunch and a member of the board of directors)

Have I lost my freakin' mind??  Yes, yes I have. When you consider that I have to prepare speeches (or at least something) for most of those events, get sponsors, sell tickets, and generally know what the hell is going on, it's just a stupid, stupid schedule. It's like I can't look at the calendar as a whole and say "no, I don't actually have time for that." Instead I look at the 2 hour time slot of an event and say "Well, yes, I'm free those two hours and therefore I can commit to 20 or 30 hours of work before that and there is no reason for me to see what the rest of that day, week, month looks like! Yes, of course I'll help! What? Be in charge? Why yes, yes I can!"

The good news is after fundraising for no less than 3 major events in one month, I have no friends left. They are all avoiding my calls and emails and have blocked me on Facebook. This is good news, because it makes me completely useless as a fundraiser in the future. This, combined with the fact that my board terms are all up (and shall not be renewed!!!) in June (2 of them) and December (the other 2) should give me my life back.  This is the plan (again).

Slow, slow, slow learner.

I really should take a page out of Seamus's book and just chill.

P.S. Don't get me wrong, I love these agencies and the work they do. (That's part of the problem!). I'm not loving my inability to find balance.

Paso Part Deux

Back to Paso Robles...sadly, not in "real life" but in this blog. I must finish telling you about our trip to Paso Robles, because I pretend you are anxiously awaiting this and also because I love re-living it.

On our last day there, Monday, I slept in until almost 10a.m. And I mean slept. We were at Lisa and Ted Plemons' home until after midnight and got to bed somewhere around 1ish. I didn't even open my eyes until almost 10a.m. This is astounding because it's 9 hours of sleep--amazing enough--but I'm also pretty sure it's the first time I've slept that long straight through since cancer and chemo robbed me of that ability. So the day started off pretty darn good. We had time for coffee (me) and a blueberry muffin (Chris) and scone (me) before heading over to meet Judy Starr at the Starr Ranch. Judy is a well known, well-respected grape grower. Her grapes are used in many of the wines of the area. She gave us a private tasting and I thoroughly enjoyed her Rousanne, and also her dried persimmons (pretty and tasty!). The blog header photo was taken as we drove away from Starr vineyards (I'm pretty sure it's her property).

 

We left Starr and drove over to her neighbors, the Dubosts of the Dubost Ranch and Winery, for a spectacular lunch of grilled vegetables, chicken, boar sausage and ribs. Wow. Curt Dubost's family has owned the farm for over 90 years. His wife Kate, and both of their sons were all active in turning the farm into a vineyard and winery. Kate's son Jake is the winemaker and joined us for lunch to share and discuss his delicious wines (Chris loves their Negrette and I love the Alexandrine--a Viognier/ Rousanne blend...you see a pattern with my wine loves?). And, they had the most adorable dogs.

  

After Dubost we headed over to Carmody-McKnight where owner Gary Conway Carmody (he of "Land of the Giants" TV fame) gave us a tasting of his wines. Gary is passionate, to say the least, about his wine and his land. He and Chris literally "drank the soil"--Gary's demonstration of the mineral richness of his soil. Gary is also an artist and I loved his paintings (you can see them on the website; I had to refrain from purchasing however...we're still supposed to be on a budget and um, there was wine being purchased.)

 

  

Then (I napped in the car) we headed over to Sylvester Winery where winemaker Michael Barretto gave us a tour and a tasting (including a barrel tasting ) of his Barretto wines. Iberian wines from California grapes. Cool. Very interesting wines and while I normally have allergies to red wines and have to be careful...I had to indulge.

  

Continuing on our very difficult day we headed back over to Cass Winery to see it during the day. (okay, about here you're wondering who the heck is driving. The answer is Chris, because I was sleeping in the car constantly. Oh, and Chris is way better at sipping and spitting than I am. My motto is "Spittin' is Quittin'"). 

Steve Cass gave us a tour of their tasting room and winemaking facilities (the link is to a YouTube video of Steve discussing Paso Robles as an AVA). And, of course, we tasted more wine (love the 2009 Viognier...some came home with me but did not last long, so now I've joined their wine club). And we met their South African winemaker, Lood, and  Meg , the Boston terrier,who is one of the dogs featured in Winery Dogs of Central California. Shockingly, I didn't get a photo of her! In fact, the wine must have kicked in because the only photo I did get was of the private tasting room. We were just chit-chatting and tasting away so no photos. Next time!

Chris had the arduous task of then driving us home (it's about a 5 hour drive and we left at about 5pm). But we stopped for a classic steak and baked potato dinner in Buellton (about an hour and a half into the drive) at The Hitching Post 2 (made more famous in the movie Sideways). Mmmmm. Did I mention I slept the entire way home?

 

The owner, Frank Ostini, stopped and chatted with us and we're looking forward to bringing the Forgotten Grapes tour group back in April for dinner there as well. Oh, and at the table next to us was Jim Fox, the color commentator for the Los Angeles Kings ( Chris recognized him and his voice) who, as it turns out, is also a wine lover and kindly shared some of his wine with us when he and his wife didn't finish their bottle. Did I mention I slept the entire way home?? ;-)

This was really a memorable trip. My favorite things in the world are books, dogs, wine and travel and this had it all. Besides several bottles of wine, my souvenirs also included two books: Winery Dogs of Central California and Wine Dogs USA 2. (I already have and love the first Wine Dogs USA and Winery Dogs of Napa Valley--I think this makes me a collector).  Needless to say, I cannot wait to return in April!!

A Miscellany Mess o' things

 We'll get to more Paso Robles postings, but two exciting things happened in the last 24 hours that must be shared.

First, for the first time in 355 days...I used a blow dryer!!
Right, okay, so I don't really have that much hair, and nor did it get blown out that big, but...the point is, I have enough hair that a blow dryer is...um, okay...it's not necessary, but it's helpful. I'm not sure anybody else could tell a big difference, but at least I don't have a wet head of hair most of the day.

See, last week I got my hair trimmed up a bit and my hairstylist added a little red highlighting to it. But  nobody noticed! This seemed like a monumental event to me so I thought people should notice, so of course I started telling everyone. And everyone squinted their eyes at me, tilted their heads and said "really?" Then I realized that when my hair is wet, it's darker and when I put product in it in my lame attempt to style what still looks like toddler hair into something that looks like adult hair, but not too adult, it just stays dark. You can't really see any "highlights" when there is no light hitting it. That's when I had the brilliant idea to actually dry my hair before putting any product in it. Hmmm... still no one has noticed. I'll have Chris take a picture of it and see if you can tell. Besides, we're due for another oh-so-stimulating-just-how-long-does-it-take-to-grow-hair-back-post-chemo photo. (March 13th is the anniversary of my head-shaving. A one-year-later photo would be appropriate).

And the second exciting thing was that I received my first blog award! I've seen these on many folks blogs, but have never actually known how they came about. Well, apparently they are just bandied about from blogger to blogger.  Here's the one I received, from Chrissy over at I Shoulda Been a Stripper:

 This is a "Sweet Friend" award and it comes with serious, serious obligations for the recipient. To wit:

The Sweet Friends Award has the following rules:

1. Copy the image and paste it to your blog.
2. List 10 things that make you happy, do one of them today.
3. Select 10 bloggers who brighten your day.

Alrighty then, so yes, it's like a chain letter, only without threats of bad luck or ill health (which would of course be remarkably tacky considering my blog is what is known as a "cancer blog"---not a blog that is a cancer, people, knock it off).  I'm going to sort of follow the rules, since Chrissy herself broke the rules (she also had less than 10 in number 3):

1. Check.
2. Ten things that make me happy:  Chris, cuddling with Seamus, dogs in general, wine, reading, the beach, travel,writing, napping, having a fabulous meal.  And the jokes about "doing" one of those things are just too easy and yet inappropriate.
3.  The 3 (right, 3, not 10...I'm improvising here) bloggers who brighten my day (besides Chrissy, who already got this award) are:
     - Roryann at   Cooking With The Chef's Wife
     - Sara at   Sara in Vermont
     - Stephanie at  Bah! to Cancer

Ladies, consider yourself awarded and now you must follow the rules for one who has been awarded a "Sweet Friend" award or terrible things will (or will not) happen to your life/blog/worst enemy/Kleenex (you choose).

And there's my mess o' musings for the day.

Passing Time in Paso

Even though 2010 is still the worst most horrible terrible no-good year (if this confuses you, click here for a reminder: "terrible no good year"), we've already had what would be called "an amazing journey" if we were a reality TV show.

Last weekend Chris took me away from it all to Paso Robles in Central California to celebrate my birthday and, well, do a little business. But when your business is wine, that's not a bad thing. A little background for those of you who don't know Chris (and okay, if you're really new to the blog: Chris is my "significant other" of nearly 6 years). He writes a wine column for Area 9 magazine and he also runs a website called ForgottenGrapes.com (yep, that's a link to it--check it out!). Lately he's expanded his wine repertoire  to include wine tasting events at restaurants and wine bars. He puts on a great "show" that's entertaining and pop-culture referenced filled and at the same time educates the audiences on some of the lesser known wines (so Mourvedre, Viognier, Roussane, Carmenere....not Chardonnay, Cabernet or Pinot Noir; you got that right? No? Okay...time for you to check out the website). His next big adventure and expansion into eventual world dominance of Forgotten Grapes everywhere is leading a wine tour through Paso Robles for a long weekend  April 8th to the 11th, 2010. 10 or 12 of us will get to tour the wineries of the Central Coast, but not just hopping out of the van and running into the tasting bars with the masses of humanity. No, we'll be meeting with the winemakers, getting private tours, doing barrel tastings, and in a few cases, dining with the winemakers in their private tasting rooms.  (If you're interested in joining us....and why wouldn't you be??...there's room for a few more. Check it all out at ForgottenGrapes.com).

So this past weekend, Chris and I had the very, very difficult job of scouting out the trip. We went to most of the wineries on the trip, met with the winemakers, ate at the restaurant and checked out the house (well, it's really two houses) that will be the accommodation for our group. Awesomeness everywhere. So many good wines, but the people we met were even more impressive. So kind, friendly and genuinely interested and passionate about their wines. Maybe because Chris is so knowledgeable in an area that most know little or nothing about (another word for "Forgotten" grapes might be "obscure"), the conversations were endlessly interesting. (Another thing to know about Chris is he has an encyclopedic knowledge of just about everything and particularly wine; I'm old so I say "encyclopedic"; our younger friends call him "Chrisipedia.")

I wasn't in charge; I had no duties or obligations; I was chauffeured about, wined, dined, wined, pampered, wined, and generally spoiled and relaxed all weekend long. Sheer bliss. And I fell in love with Paso Robles. Very few places make me want to pack up and move. Paso Robles had me not wanting to even bother coming home to pack up anything (except Seamus; we need Seamus with us). Here's some photos from our trip:

 

This is Chris (right) with Claiborne Thompson of Claiborne & Churchill winery (they're both Princeton grads so they had that in common too)

The house our group will be staying in come April. It sits high on a hill overlooking the wine valley.

The Pinot Noir flight tasting at Wild Horse.

Dinner at the home of Lisa & Ted Plemons, with Alice and Steve Cass. The four of them own Cass Vineyards & Winery. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Ted...but trust me, he looks just like Richard Branson!

Here's Lisa with their dog Fig. Fig was very Seamus-esque (note his presence at the table and the defiant stare; yep, that's Seamus!)

These were a select few photos from Saturday and Sunday. Still to come, the Monday photos (hint: Monday had gorgeous weather--that's when the photo that is now the blog header photo was taken).

To think, this time last year I had just started my very first chemo treatment. A trip like this makes that all a very distant memory.

A Whole New Life

Chris whisked me away to Paso Robles for three glorious days of wine tasting to celebrate my birthday (birthdays get bigger celebrations these days!). I'd like to pack up my life and start a new one in Paso Robles, with Chris and Seamus of course. Here's a few reasons why:

 

  

  

More on the trip later. For now, I just look at these photos and sigh. And then I remember I need to get my butt into work!

Blog--aversary

I finally got around to changing up the blog a bit. But, um, this yellow bowl of sunshine-y confection is not going to stay. I was playing, and then I ran out of energy. So Big Miss Sunshine it is right now. (That photo was taken on the day I started chemo. Oddly, it's one of the few I have of Seamus and I together during the cancer-go-round. Note to self: get new picture with Seamus. Not surprisingly, I have 5,672 photos of Chris and Seamus.)

But it's sort of appropriate that the blog looks like a giant birthday cake. Because tomorrow (the 17th) is my birthday and today is a blog-aversary of sorts. I actually started the blog on January 12, 2009. So technically, it was a year old back then. But that was also the anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis so the blog anniversary gets lost in that shuffle. Besides, I didn't have Google Analytics on January 12th. Nope, I didn't start obsessing over blog stats through Google Analytics until February 16th, 2009. So here's what Google tells me about my year in blog-land:

There have been 16,192 visits (these are different than "hits"; I don't know how except that one is less violent)

There were 6,874 "unique visitors" (I don't know what that says about the rest of you)

Page views totaled 24,305

And the average time spent on the blog was 2 minutes and 23 seconds (which means you are really fast readers!)

Visitors came from 118 countries

All 50 US states plus the District of Columbia eventually checked in for a visit.

The top 5 search words or phrases used to find the blog included some variation of "the dog lived," but number 6 was "Dr Karam UCLA." Number 7 was "butterflies" (mentioned a grand total of 1 time on my blog), and my own name was a distant number 10.

The blog that sent the most traffic over to my blog was qcreport.blogspot.com.  

Not coincidentally, the highest number of visitors to the blog in one day (at least that Google recorded) was 107...and that was the day (July 20, 2009) I posted the interview with Quinn Cummings of qcreport.blogspot.com about her book, Notes from the Underwire (which is very good and very funny). The next highest was 88 on Friday, March 20th which was the day after my second chemo treatment when presumably you were all checking in to see if we'd have a repeat of the horrific white blood cell crash that followed the first chemo.(I disappointed you. Unless of course, you were actually hoping that I was okay post-chemo)

What Google calls the "top landing page" was the Butterflies and Blogs post. This makes me think a lot of 9 year old girls spend time doing google searches. With this knowledge you can fully expect a blog post called "Unicorns and Rainbows" very, very soon. No, wait. This blog is not appropriate for 9 year old girls. Never mind.

Google Analytics gives me a whole lot of other information, but frankly, I have no idea what it means. Oh, and I have google ads on the site and that has earned me $24.05. Well, it will once Google mails me a check (and I think I have to earn $100 before that happens. I'm going to keep my day job.).

I'm pretty sure none of those stats matter (but aren't you glad I bored you with them?). The blog was an important part of my process in dealing with the whole breast cancer odyssey. And I'm kind of attached to it, even if we are having issues right now.

Happy Blog-aversary to all of you who've been reading along with me. Thanks!

(P.S. Apparently there's been some confusion once again about leaving comments. I believe if you click on the word "comments" below this post--it may or may not have a number in front of it, such as "2 comments"--you will get a pop-up window which will show you the comments made and there will be a box where you can type in your comments. And there's a test to make sure you aren't sending spam. Because I want all discussion of prescription drugs and singles websites to come from me and me only).

Dating and Cancer

In my return to normal life, following the program interruption that was cancer, I find myself following blogs that aren’t just about cancer. I know. Imagine. And I find myself laughing at these blogs (no, it’s okay, they’re meant to be funny) as well as at stories I’ve been hearing from some friends lately. For a brief moment, I was even jealous. Wow, they have all this interesting stuff to blog about. Great, great material these ladies have. Then I realized the common denominator…these are all women over the age of, um, let’s go with 30, getting out into the dating world. Rich, rich material for humor if only one didn’t have to live through the stories before they could tell them. That’s when I realized a very profound thing, which of course I will share with you (and then all of you single women can collectively scream “DUH!!!” at me).
Dating is a lot like cancer.
Well, it’s like cancer treatment.
1) No matter how hard you try, you’re not quite yourself at the beginning.
2) You have to give yourself lots of pep talks.
3) The whole process can make you feel really unattractive.
4) It sometimes seems it’s all anybody talks to you about.
5) Other people usually pick up the tab for dinner.
6) Drinks can have bad side effects.
7) You become hyper-aware of your weight.
8) Everybody seems to be doing it better.
9) Everybody has advice (and only some of it is any good).
10) You make yourself go through it (the dating ritual/ chemo) because it’s supposed to be better in the end. The end is truly supposed to justify the means.
11) And, bonus, you get some really wild stories that entertain your friends.

I remember when I was in the doctor’s exam room waiting for chemo. There was a flyer on the billboard for a support group for young breast cancer patients and it included topics like “dating and cancer.” And I thought…really? Who would worry about dating during chemo? That would seem to be the last thing on one’s mind. But I suppose if you are out there dating when you get diagnosed, well, that’s one more thing to deal with. That’s one side effect I definitely avoided.

So ladies of a certain age out there dating, I guess here’s the support I can offer… at least it’s not cancer. Right?

PS. Some blogs to check out if you are a) out their dating and need to laugh and b) are not easily offended. No, seriously, do not click if you are easily offended.


47 and Starting Over
I Shoulda Been a Stripper
Me Jane

My dating "real" friends haven't started blogs yet. Despite all of my encouragement. Maybe they don't see the humor yet. Hmmmmm

Change is Hard

I really was going to change the blog to make it less "breast-cancery." I was. Plus, have I mentioned I'm not really a pink person? But I've been busy. This past 72 hours I didn't leave the house (unless you count the back patio for a soak in the jacuzzi with Chris). I've been working. Real work (as in "for a living") and house projects. And a lot of that was on the computer, so I didn't really feel like adding "work on blog change" to that list. I'm still pink. Or, er, the blog is.  For now.

Since we're all still about pink, I think it's worth mentioning again that I will be the honorary chair of the Inland Agency's Shop to Stop Breast Cancer. (Here's where I mention that other far more impressive women walk for days or run for the cure...me? I shop.) The event is March 15th at the Marriott in Riverside. At this point we're looking for sponsors and for "stuff." By stuff we mean new donated items--this is a great time to "re-gift." Got a gorgeous sweater for Christmas and it's 2 sizes too small? Not for Shop to Stop it isn't! Did you get a gift card to Claim Jumper and your diet doesn't allow for piles of food bigger than your head? Give it to us! (Um, the gift card, not your head. English sentence structure can be so difficult in the morning). And of course, we welcome shoppers. All the info you need is in the below "press release."

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

January 29, 2010 Inland Agency 1737 Atlanta Ave. Suite H-5 Riverside, CA  92507 (951) 241-8723 "Golden" Opportunity Now you can donate unusable gold and silver jewelry (single earrings, broken bracelets, etc.) to Shop to Stop Breast Cancer and get the full value of the metal as a tax deduction. To make it simple, we have scheduled two collections: Tuesday, February 23 Wednesday, March 3 5 pm until 7:30 p.m. Inland Agency Conference Room The items will be weighed and a letter with the value of the metal will be instantly entered into a tax donation letter from Inland Agency. For more information call Jodee Palmer at (951) 241-8723 X224. Event Sponsors A to Z Printing Altura Credit Union American Diversity areyouinmyphoto.com Chick-fil-A Sara Aschmann & Peter Bliss Judith Auth Alex Benn Hattie Byland Jennifer Camara Crown Printing Elizabeth Daschner frye/wiles Rina Gonzales Kappa Kappa Gamma Ann Kasper Sue Mitchell Rosa Olaiz Riverside Plaza Kirsten & Matt Shea Teresa Rhyne Tesoro Media The Zucker Law Firm Quick Links Inland Agency The Pink Ribbon Place Donate Online Our Guardian Angels Sponsorship Opportunities Save the Date Card Teresa Rhyne to Chair "Shop to Stop Breast Cancer" March 15, 2010 We are thrilled to welcome Teresa Rhyne, principal of The Teresa Rhyne Law Group, as this year's Honorary Chair of Shop to Stop Breast Cancer. Teresa was instrumental in establishing the Breast Resource Advocates (BRA) Committee, an "A-List" group who work tirelessly to develop resources and ideas to support The Pink Ribbon Place, Riverside's first--and only--breast cancer resource center. Teresa has been deeply involved with community organizations for years, serving as a Board or Executive Committee member for The Raincross Club, Alternatives to Domestic Violence, Riverside Public Library Foundation, Riverside Humane Society Pet Adoption Center, United Way of the Inland Valleys, YWCA's Professional Women's Council, the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, and many others. Teresa says of Shop to Stop Breast Cancer: "It's better than a sale; it's a sale with a heart!  All proceeds benefit the Inland Agency. The Inland Agency makes a difference and saves lives through its breast health programs. As a one-year breast cancer survivor myself, I can't over-emphasize how important the work they do really is." Riverside Marriott Presents Inland Agency's Shop to Stop Breast Cancer March 15, 2010 Shop to Stop Breast Cancer is Inland Agency's signature fundraising event to support The Pink Ribbon Place, Every dollar raised over the cost of the event goes directly to pay for mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women, saving lives through early detection. Click here for more information on this year's Shop to Stop Breast Cancer event, click here to send us an email, or call Jodee Palmer at (951) 241-8723 X224. This Week's Featured Items Donations of wonderful items for Shop to Stop Breast Cancer have been coming in every week. We have far too much inventory to show it all, so we have decided to shine a spotlight on a few of the most exciting items each week. Shown above are a full-sized electric organ/piano, donated by Sara Aschmann and Peter Bliss, and a 100-year-old rocking horse on a wrought-iron frame. The tail is made of real horse hair and the saddle is genuine leather. This beautiful antique was donated by Ann Foster. To donate your own items and help us reach our goal of raising $100,000, contact Jodee Palmer at jpalmer@inlandagency.org or call her at (951) 241-8723 X224.