Hello 2026!

We are one week into the New Year. I hope my readers have had a good start to 2026. 

Through the years I have always started my year off with a blog post of aspirations for the New Year. Those who know me know that I don't make resolutions. This way when things don't work out I don't have to be hard on myself. 

 But this year I'm going to try something a bit different. I am going to aspire to only one thing - to be "present". That's it. I have found myself rushing around, getting interrupted by a text or a call ( which usually isn't urgent)  or letting myself be sucked down the rabbit hole of social media - be it on Facebook or X or Pinterest or Instagram. Then I wonder why I feel stressed about having so much to do. 

So what does this being "present" look like for me?

I am going to focus on what I am doing at the time I am doing it. 

When I am playing pickleball, I will focus on my play not what I will be doing later that day. 

When I am walking Amber I will concentrate on my time with her. Checking on nature and listening to the sounds around me.  Not checking my phone. 

When I am reading I will try not to be distracted. Not always easy when Nick is watching TV in the same room. 

When I am speaking to friends and family,  I will keep my phone in my pocket on silence. 

When I set aside time to do my art, I will turn on some music and try to place all the other things I have to do out of my mind. And if I mess up a painting ( those watercolors mix so easily if I am not patient) so be it.  No harm in trying again. 

When I am focusing on growing in my faith - I will find a quiet spot and work on the bible study that I am doing or pray. 

When I am working on my advocacy work I will concentrate on the task at hand - reviewing grants or sharing new research results on X or Instagram. ( This one will be difficult. I start reading posts from the the organizations or people I follow on X and find myself to scrolling.  Bam ... 20 minutes go by and I've shared one post about ovarian cancer. 

When I am doing volunteer work with my local historical society, I will try to focus on my roles. 

So you might wonder how those aspirations for 2025 work out. I was pretty successful at most of them although in my cancer advocacy work I did accept a position on the State's Survivorship Workgroup and no surprise,  I still have not visited Maine. But there is always this year.  

 Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy 2026! May your presence light up the world. 

 Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!  

 

 

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!

Hello 2023!

As I begin 2023, I have hope for the future- for my health, my family and my advocacy. 

As many of you know, I begin each year with a few aspirations.

I have a bucket list that includes visiting all 50 states. I have 16 to go but the one that has been on my aspiration list since 2015 is Maine. It is the  only state I have not visited east of the Mississippi. I would like to visit the Wyeth museum, Acadia national park and of course some light houses. 

I aspire to continue to exercise - Jazzercise, yoga and this year bike riding. My friend gave me one of her extra bikes last fall. I've only ridden three times since then but look forward to getting out and riding around my town when the weather is nice this year. 

I aspire to do more art work. I'll continue working in watercolors and I'll add Barn Quilts. I've been following a group of Barn Quilters on Facebook and just love what they are creating.  I made small wood quilt ornaments for my friends for Christmas this year

 

 and would like to try larger 1' x1' or maybe even larger 3' x3' paintings.

When it comes to my advocacy work I already am registered for the SGO meeting this spring. Let me know if you are attending. Big news is that an abstract Annie Ellis, ovarian cancer survivor and advocate, and I submitted has been accepted for presentation. This is really exciting! I also was nominated and submitted my application for a task force position and will let you know if I am chosen. 

There may be some advocacy activities that I will cut back on as I spend more time with my grandsons and kids but you will continue to find me chatting along with Christina Lizaso as we take the #gyncsm ( Gyn Cancer Social Media) community on Twitter to every other month chats at 8pm ET. See you on January 11 when we chat about "Survivorship".  Or check out what we had done in the past on our blog- http://gyncsm.blogspot.com/

Wishing you all good health , love and friendship in the year ahead.

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!

Beginning a New Decade

Welcome to 2020!

I wish all my readers a very Happy and Healthy New Year.

At the start of every year I always find it amazing that I am still here. In 2005 when I was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer I really wasn't sure I would make it to 2007 yet here I am. It may sound cliche but I feel very blessed.

As many of you know I do not make New Year Resolutions. Instead I make a list of things I aspire to do during the upcoming year.

In last year's list I wrote: 

• I aspire to consistently attend yoga class.

I signed up for a yoga class at a local studio called One Yoga and a friend who was training to be a yoga instructor ( she just got certified) also invited me to her house for a few sessions. I found taking yoga was beneficial to me - better breathing, less stress and much better posture. I wish that I had started it sooner. The owner of the yoga studio I attend shared her message for 2020 and in it she said to be open to good energy, focus on the positive and keep what is good. Pretty good advice I would say .

What else do I aspire to do in 2020?  When I looked over last year's list I see a few things that have been on my list for  many years. I'll just keep them here and keep trying to make them happen.

• 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 have had this aspiration for 5+ years)
• 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. (This one has also been on my list for years and as long as we have fun doing agility it will stay here.) 
• I aspire to go kayaking.

• I aspire to spend more time doing watercolor paintings. I tried pastels, it was one of the things I aspired to last year, and enjoyed it but I am going to change this one up a bit. This year I will concentrate my watercolor painting. My son and daughter-in-law gave me water color brushes for Christmas so I am psyched to give them a try.
  
• I aspire to step away from social media for a period of time each week and make connections in person - call or visit. MaryAnne, Florence and Linda I promise to reach out soon. 

What do you aspire to do in 2019?

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!

Welcome 2017!

Getting to start a New Year is a real blessing!

If you've read my first posts of the year going back a few years you see that I aspire to things. Some aspirations stay the same from year to 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. Some of how I do that might have to change this year because...

I aspire to spend more time with my daughter and her family and my son and his wife. In the Spring my daughter and her family will be living within 4 hours - the closest she has been since she got married nine years ago. I just can't miss the opportunity to spend time with them.

I aspire to build an even better bond with my dog Amber so we can compete at the masters level in agility.

I aspire to travel with my husband and visit at least 2 states I have not visited before. Maine is one of the two. Yes, this was on my 2016 list too. I am not sure what the other state will be.

I aspire to learn a new arts and craft technique. I love to paint so I hope to do that but I'd like to try something new too. That way I can make some more gifts for Christmas next year. 

I aspire to find a way to give back in my community or church.

I wish everyone good health , peace and joy in 2017!


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!

It is 2015 !

It is 2015, I'm here and I am thrill!
I look forward to March and my son's wedding. I love my future daughter-in-law and am so happy to have her join the family.
I look forward to June when I will celebrate a pretty special birthday.
And I look forward to July,well the 29th in particular, when I will celebrate a landmark "cancerversary" - my 10th.

Even with all these exciting things already planned for the year I still want to make my  annual aspirations.  I wrote about my aspirations for 2014 here. For 2015, I'm going to repeat some of last year's aspirations ( I never did make a trip to Maine) and update some others. Here they are:

• Continue to visit my children and grandchildren every few months
• Continue to advocate for ovarian cancer patients and research through this blog and the #gyncsm community
• Post more frequently on this blog
• Help my dog, Amber, achieve Excellent titles in 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
• Visit the state of Maine
• Learn some Hindi words (New)

I wish for all my readers a Happy and Healthy and Joyful 2015.

Dee
Every Day is a blessing!

Hello 2014

 I am happy and truly blessed  to be welcoming in 2014.  As I have written in the past I do not make New Year's Resolutions. I make aspirations instead. Last year they worked out pretty well.

Here are my aspirations for 2014:

Visit my children and grandchildren in Alabama and California.
Advocate for ovarian cancer patients and research
Attend some Agility Trials with my dog Amber
Create more paintings
Continue - or maybe increase- my physical activity.
Visit the state of Maine- the only state east of the Mississippi I have not yet visited

Looking forward to a good year.

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!

Hello 2012

I made it. Yup I'm here and it's 2012. Now that is pretty awesome.

I am looking forward to all 366 days of 2012. I'm sure all those days will not be sunny or easy but they will be and that is what is meaningful.

I don't really make resolutions because they are too hard to keep but I do have aspirations. I aspire to post more on this blog; fundraise for CINJ; help chair an inspiring One Force Symposium for OC survivors; paint more ; visit my daughter, son-in-law and grandson ; travel to a few more states ( I have 17 more to hit all 50) and move more. No not move to another house. I love the one I am in now . But I will move - walking, pilates, yoga, swimming because when I move more I feel better.

So stop back occasionally and see how I'm doing.

Happy New Year to you and yours.

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!