Aspirations for 2025

Wishing you all a Happy and Health 2025. 

It's time once again to put together my list of what I aspire to do in 2025. 

• Let's start off with something that has been on my list since 2014. Yes, Visiting Maine remains on my list. Maybe this year?
• Amber is going to be 15 years old this year. I hope to continue to take her on those long walks.
• I will continue to create art - watercolor in particular.
• Exercise is on my list. I'll continue taking lessons and playing Pickleball and dancing in Jazzercise class.
• As the #gyncsm chat on X/Twitter came to a close I started thinking more about the types of advocacy work I am involved with. My ovarian cancer experience, now twenty years old is valuable on some levels but is out of date in other areas. I have no experience with any of the new treatment options. So some activities - updating this blog with the latest ovarian cancer research news, reviewing cancer research grant applications and being a patient advocate advising clinical trials and mentoring other women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will continue.  Slowly, I will scale back other time commitments. I will finish the terms of my appointments on different committees but I will not accept new positions in 2025.
• I look forward to spending more time with Nick, my children, their spouses, my grandsons and friends.
  

I think my word of the year will be SILENCE. The world is a noisy and busy place. I tend to be on the move a lot. So I'll make an effort to just be quiet - no TV, no social media, - just be. 

Dee 

Every Day is a Blessing!

So Long 2023 - Welcome 2024 !

For those of you have followed this blog know that I don't make resolutions for the new year but rather I make a list of  aspirations.  When I was thinking about what aspirations should be on my list this year,  I realized I still have not visited Maine.  How long has visiting Maine been on my list? I went back and checked my posts and Visiting Maine shows up for the very first time in my first post of 2014. 

From Only In Your State website

It has appeared on the list every year since then - 10 years! And it will stay on the list this year too, along with :

Spend more time with my children, their spouses and grandchildren.

Practice more watercolor painting.

Spend less time on social media and more time connecting in real life.

Continue to play Pickleball, practice Yoga and dance in Jazzercise class 

Continue to take long walks with my dog Amber - a great quiet time in my day.

Continue to do the advocacy work that brings me joy - grant reviews and learning about and sharing research news

What do you aspire to do?  Remember it might not happen right away  but we can always reach for it. 

I've seen some folks pick a word of the year.  I thought that silence would be a good one - sometimes I am so busy doing things that I never experience silence except for when I take a walk with my dog.  I read a list of words a friend share with me and thought boundaries would be a good word too. I need to set better boundaries when it comes to advocacy vs other aspects of my life. Then I thought I would try using a word of the year generator and it gave me :

PROSPER

I like it! I can aim to prosper in so many different areas of my life. Have you picked a word?

Happy New Year! 

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!

A spark...

 

We made it through 2021!  

Every year in January I write a post about aspirations. In last year's (Uncharted Waters ) post I was unsure of what the year and the Covid Pandemic would bring our way. While waiting for the vaccine,  I aspired to travel to Maine, finally visit family and friends I hadn't seen since 2019, work with my dog, create more art and continue to advocate for cancer research. In 2021, I put off that trip to Maine but continued my advocacy work by attending conferences virtually.  I did have two vaccine shots and a booster which made me more comfortable going out with my mask on.

As we begin 2022, we sit in the middle of the Omicron variant spike. So once again we are a bit unsettled as to how meetings and travel will be affected this year. But I am hopeful to do some in-person conferences. 

As for other things - I aspire to paint and sketch more. My Christmas present this year was a drawing desk. I am thrilled to have a dedicated place to work . 

Above the desk now hangs a print of the Disney character Figment. Figment in the Disney World Ride "Journey into Imagination" uses his senses and imagination to do all sorts of things. 

The Ride theme song " One Little Spark" lyrics start off-

One little spark, of inspiration
Is at the heart, of all creation
Right at the start, of everything that's new
One little spark, lights up for you

I hope this print sparks me to look at details and helps me create anew.

Now on to 2022 with all its potential!

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!

Uncharted Waters

When I look back at the Jan 2, 2020 blog post, I see how glad I was to be starting a new decade and beginning another year of cancer survivorship. In that post, I wrote about my aspirations for the year, which included practicing my watercolor painting and yoga, visiting Maine, going kayaking, building a better bond with my dog and stepping away from social media to meet with friends in person. 

And then the Covid-19 pandemic happened.

I think we could all agree that we just finished a year that took us into uncharted waters. We had to change how we did so many things due to the COVID 19 virus. We kept socially distanced, wore masks and didn't visit others in their homes. We searched for toilet paper, hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes, washed our hands for 20 seconds and refrained from shaking hands. We had almost everything from dog food to light bulbs to groceries delivered to our home. Being online was more than browsing Pinterest, Facebook or writing e-mails. We visited with family and friends via Zoom, and attended virtual conferences. 

All this meant some of my aspirations weren't going to even be able to be attempted. 

 I was home pretty much 24 hours a day, so to stay physically healthy I needed to remain active. It helped to have my dog Amber to walk outside a few times a day but I decided against going to agility class except for the last few classes of the year where we wore mask including when we were running our dog and stayed 6 feet apart . We attended one agility trial in February before the shutdown began. As for yoga, well that switched to online Zoom classes.There was no kayaking and my social media use went up instead of down and now I only spoke to friends on the phone or video chat.

After returning from a conference in Texas in January, I traveled no further than 50 miles from my home. During one two month period the furthest I drove from my home was 7 miles. Needless to say I never made it to Maine nor did we go on the family vacation we had planned the year before. 

Being home meant I did get a chance to do more art creations so I was able to fulfill that aspiration.  I even registered for a free weekly online course through the Princeton Art Museum, too.

As I start 2021, I will continue to wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart and wash my hands.  And I will patiently wait to receive the COVID Vaccine.

When this the pandemic is under control,  I aspire to make a trip to Maine and trips to see family in the US and abroad. In the mean time, I'll create more art, when weather permits I'll spend time outside with my dog trying to keep healthy and I will continue to advocate for cancer research with an additional focus on cancer treatment equity.

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!

New Year Aspirations

Another year begins!

As we welcome 2019,  I wish all my followers a very Happy and Health New Year!

If you are a regular follower you know that at the beginning of every year I don't make New Year Resolutions but rather aspirations. I tend not to feel too guilty if I don't quite get to do what I aspire to do, as you will see by the repeat aspirations below. But having concrete goals helps keep me focused.

Here are aspirations from 2018 that I will continue to work on this year.

• I aspire to continue to support women diagnosed with ovarian cancer through this blog and the  #gyncsm  community, to share my story as an ovarian cancer survivor and to promote ovarian cancer research.  ( I am excited to be attending and speaking at the ASCO Annual Meeting in June this year. More details soon.)
• I aspire to travel to Maine in 2019.  ( This has been on my list since 2016. But I'll keep trying .)
• I aspire to build an even better bond with my dog Amber so we can improve our work at the masters level in agility. ( My knee injury kept us out of the ring for the last 6 months of 2018.)  
• I aspire to go kayaking. (Once again my knee injury kept me from doing this last year.)
• I aspire to complete an online course in Genomics. (There just weren't enough hours in the day to get this done. I'm leaving this on the list though because I think this knowledge will only make me a better advocate.)

 Added to my list:

• I aspire to spend more time learning how to work with pastels. (I took an eight week art class and enjoyed the time I worked with the pastels.)
• I aspire to consistently attend yoga class. ( I dropped in on some classes in November and I felt calmer and more centered. ) 
• I aspire to step away from social media for a period of time each week and make connections in person - call or visit. 

What do you aspire to do in 2019?

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!

Time to Look Forward

I've been feeling pretty under the weather lately so I regret taking so long to do this post.

Every year in January I write a post on my aspirations for the year ahead. I'm not keen on resolutions but aspirations well those are just things I will keep trying for.

Just now, when I looked back at my aspirations from January 2017, I'm glad I can keep trying because I wasn't totally successful.

Here is aspirations will remain from last year:

• I aspire to continue to support other women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, to share my story as an ovarian cancer survivor and to promote ovarian cancer research. ( There are some activities that I will have to cut back on so I can achieve some of my other aspirations on this list.  I am adding that I aspire to  help more women become advocates. I see the same awesome advocates at events. We need more new and fresh voices.)
• I aspire to travel with my husband and visit at least 2 states I have not visited before. Maine is one of the two.  ( This has been on my list since 2016. But I'll try again this year.)
• I aspire to learn a new arts and craft technique. ( I did some glass blowing in 2017 which was loads of fun. ) 
•  I aspire to find a way to give back in my community or church. ( I wasn't as successful at this one as I had hoped to be so on the list it will stay.)
• I aspire to spend more time with my daughter and her family and my son and his wife.  (Trying to fill the time over the next few months while my daughter and her family are stateside and only 3 hours away.There are a few built in get-togethers too that I am excited about. ) 
•  I aspire to build an even better bond with my dog Amber so we can compete at the masters level in agility. (She did get her excellent std title last year,  so we really will be competing in masters in both JWW and STD.)

Now for new aspirations:

• Update this blog's layout. (Look! It's done! That was easy.) 
• I aspire to complete an online course in Genomics. (Yeah I'm a science geek. )
• I aspire to go kayaking.
• I aspire to make my FitBit celebrate each day as I hit my step count, sleep better, increase my fiber intake and drink more water. 

What do you aspire to do in 2018?

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!

Hello 2018! Changes and Challenges

On New Year's Day, it has become a bit of a tradition that I write a post about my aspirations for the year ahead.  It just so happens that today I am still thinking through my priorities and learning to use my FitBit, which I am sure will work into those aspirations, so I am going to save that post for later this week.

Instead, I am going to share with you some points made in a book I am reading. My friend, a Disney fan like I am, shared the book with me and I am enjoying reading it.  My Pride - Mastering Life's Daily Performance  is written by Alton Fitzgerald White. Alton White played Mufasa for over 4000 performances of Broadway's Lion King.

In the book, he tells the story of his life growing up and dealing with failure and success. He asks readers to challenge yourself to  :

1. Keep Sight of Your Dreams
2. Trust Your Instincts
3. Be Responsible for your Actions  and Choices
4. Develop Discipline and Define a Work Ethic
5. Take Care of Yourself
6. Foster a Sense of Spirituality
7. Commit Yourself to Service
8. Learn to Live with Rejection
9. Understand Success
10. Be In Business ( I would change this to Advocacy.) 

I think most folks, even if we aren't in show business, can benefit to think about these 10 items and how we can work them into our lives in the year ahead.

As we begin this New Year you will notice that I made a few design changes to this blog. I hope you like them.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!

Here We Come 2016

I had a wonderful 2015. I attended my son's wedding, raised over $3000 for ovarian cancer research at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and walked a 5K at Disneyland with my daughter to celebrate my 10th cancerversary .

I spent lots of fun times with family and friends. But there were some more challenging times too. My husband had some health issues and a surgery and I dealt with a knee injury, neuropathy and chemobrain. I also said farewell to three women who I met through an ovarian cancer support group and the Graceful Hope Foundation - Jeanne, Linda and Corinne. I know this sounds corny but I do feel blessed to have lived another year. 

For the past few years my first post of the new year includes a list my aspirations for the coming year. Resolutions are so 2010. I looked back at the aspirations I made at the beginning of this year. It seems like most of the things I looked forward to doing last year (in italics) are what I still want to do this year so I'll repost the list and add some new items.

• Continue to visit my children and grandchildren(Visiting my grandsons will be more difficult after they move overseas in May.)   
• Visit India
• Continue to advocate for ovarian cancer patients and research through this blog and the #gyncsm community
• Learn more about non-profit management and social media 
• Apply to attend the Biennial Survivorship conference and ASCO annual meeting
• Help my dog, Amber, achieve her Excellent title in Standard Agility ( Amber did get her AKC Excellent title in Jumps with Weaves)  
• Register Amber for UKI agility
• Continue to increase my physical activity and flexibility so that I can be a better dog handler and improve my health
• Continue to paint (Would love to try my hand at trompe l'oeil and pieces of furniture)
• Visit the state of Maine
• Take an online course - maybe art history, public health or theology

I hope the year ahead is filled with lots of adventure and few doctor visits for all.

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!

2013 - A New Year Begins

Well here I am celebrating another New Year.  I am truly blessed.

Back in 2007 I had a conversation with Andy, my then future son-in-law, about his interest in the US Army Foreign Area Officers Program. He told me he could possibly move to this program in 2013. I remember thinking to myself that 2013 seemed so far off. And I really was not sure that I would be healthy or even around to share it this new stage of his career.

But here it is the first day of 2013 and guess what happens in June this year? My son-in-law, daughter and grandson will be moving to Monterey California so that Andy can begin a language course to become a member of the Foreign Area  Officer. I am thrilled for all of them.

So what will I be doing in the year ahead?
I will try to stay healthy by being active .
I will advocate for ovarian cancer research.
I will continue to work with my dog Amber as she becomes more comfortable doing agility.
I will paint and crochet more.
I will visit my daughter and family in California and my son in Alabama.
I will experience life with its' ups and down.

What are you looking forward to in the year ahead?

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing !