Breast Exams, Happy Shopping & Wedding Photos...oh my!

Today's a double-post kinda day. Sorry, Hamalayaa. Bollywood Dance Workout is just going to have to wait.

So. Today I'm going to talk about something pretty personal. It involves a lump in my boob. (Sorry, why pretty it up? That's what it is.) Actually, that lump as been there for a few...years. I found it during my monthly breast self-exam (which every woman over 20 should be doing.) It freaked me out, this lump, but it's amazing what denial can do to calm your fears. Me: "Why make a mountain out of a marble-sized lump in your breast? Pshaw. Who needs modern medicine and clean health screenings? Let's just ignore it and see what happens."

And yes. I'm an epic idiot.

Granted, the excuses I used for not having it checked right away were not having health insurance (Yay! Crappy jobs out of college are the best!) and that I am a big coward and thought that if I ignored it, it would go away. (I know that's totally insane and potentially life-threatening, but it is what it is.) Well, it didn't go away.

And then I got married AND got health insurance. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love my husband? He's playing a major role in helping me keep alive & kicking. Both pretty important in my book. You know, they just don't make cards for that.)

After years + years + years at a OB/GYN I was decidedly unhappy with, I asked some trusted women in my life for recommendations. Wouldn't you know it? I went with one of the recs, made an appointment, showed up, did the thing and now, officially, have a new OB/GYN. It was so easy, why did I wait so long, opting to stay with a doctor who made me feel like a number, less-than-pleasant staff and having to wait 6 months or more to get an appointment (P.S. No reminder calls or emails. If you missed your appointment for any reason, good luck trying to get in before the year's out.) Did I mention that nearly every woman in my family goes to this doctor and no one is happy? Trust me. It's unpleasant enough to go, but if you have to jump through hoops to be listened to, not be rushed out of the office and/or make appointments, don't stay for another annual. You and your health deserve better.(Getting off the soapbox now...)

Now onto the fun part, where I get to have my boob ultrasounded (is that a word?) I've never been pregnant or have had any other need for an ultrasound, so the science geek in me was a little fascinated. The goop, the machine, it all looks like what you see in the movies, only I was alone, not pregnant and it was on one of The Girls. And we're watching the screen...seeing layers of skin and fat and all of a sudden...there's a big black spot on the screen. Yup. That's the lump. It's solid and not a cyst like I'd convinced myself it was. I allowed myself to get just a tad nervous, until both the tech and the doctor confirm their suspicions that the lump is a fibroadenoma -- a benign (noncancerous) tumor very common in young women under 30. Actually, they said that they see them every day, that there's no known cause and that fibroadenomas do not increase chances of cancer. (I started breathing again at that point.) The doctor opted to watch it over time, with another ultrasound in 6 months, rather than do a biopsy because it had been there for years without growth or changes. So, that's that.

Post-goopy boob ultrasound, I met up with Mom, had a really delish lunch (bacon, steak and bourbon glaze really is as fabulous as it sounds. Everything is better with bacon.) and caught up on all the latest fun stuff (she had the coolest lunch/cooking course with a nutritionist at a Powell Women's Club meeting. Fun!)

The rest of the day only got better!

First, I had a crazy-good day shopping for supplies for Hello Magpie, received my One Line a Day: A Five Year Memory Book in the mail (Thanks Barnes & Noble for not being sold out like everyone else!) AND...the biggie....We got the email that our wedding photos were finally uploaded!
 
AHHHHH!!!!!

Bubs and I spend at least an hour looking through the almost 700 online photos before dinner. He looked at least 3 times yesterday. They are the most perfect wedding photos I've ever seen. I'm fairly certain everyone says that, but really. Some of them look like magazine ads. And how did Christa + Dan make us look so fabulous, even at the end of the day, when I knew I was a hot mess? Nothing short of brilliant camera trickery. The other thing I noticed about the photos? Bubs and I are kissing in at least 200 of them. And we're so happy. The kind of happy you can't fake and the kind of happy I didn't think a camera could ever capture. Yesterday, looking through that slide show, we felt like we were just married all over again and it was magical.

I'd post them, but I don't have permission yet! Once I work that out, I'll post them or post a link or both. You can bet on it! Me? Talk about our wedding and gush over detail shots of the rings, our freaking awesome cake and band and programs and stationery and jewelry and flowers and stuff? Oh yes. It's going to happen, I promise.

Happy weekend!

xo, eve