The Internet is a Nifty Thing

So I installed this thing at the bottom of my blog that tells me where people who look at my blog are from.  I get a kick out of seeing the different states and countries! 

I feel slightly cool when I see the different visitors my blog gets.  Let's face it, talking to yourself about yourself is pathetic, but talking to others about yourself, well, that's just plain narcissistic. Obviously, I am lovin' my Greek gods lately and these visitors are going to my head!

Note: If you need a fun, easy read, you can't go wrong with the Percy Jackson series!  This series may have been the inspiration behind my Greek gods comment. ;o)

I would love to know who my visitors are!  I LOVE to read peoples' blogs!  I can blog-stalk with the best of them! 

If you have a blog, please, feel free to leave your address as a comment.  If you are worried about privacy, I have changed the setting on my comments which allows me to approve them before they publish; I will make sure your address doesn't get published and it won't go on my sidebar.

Also, I have set up a little poll in the left-hand corner of my blog. Please take it!  I am just curious.  In a week, I will take it down.

Disclaimer: 90% of the Yucca Valley, California traffic feeds are me. I use my blog as a bookmark of sorts for my recipe websites and as a link to other people's blogs.

Hey Ladies!

My sister in-laws found this shirt at the Warped Tour and knew that it was meant for me.  Stefanie and Barbie love me like that.  Of course, I don't think that I will be wearing it out in public anytime soon, but it is still a great shirt.  

I thought that I would show you all the shirt and then put in my two cents about breast cancer prevention.  

Ladies, FEEL YOUR BOOBIES!  

It is so important to do your personal, monthly breast examinations. YOU are the first step in finding the cancer, and you will know when something isn't right.  If you find something, go to the doctor and GET IT CHECKED OUT! 

When the time comes, get your mammograms! DON'T PUT IT OFF!

If you catch the cancer soon enough, the chances of your survival go up! 

Did you know...
Breast cancer incidence in women has increased from 1 in 20 in 1960 to 1 in 8 today (about 12%).


In 2008, an estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed, along with 67,770 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer. About 40,480 women are expected to die in 2008 from breast cancer, though there has been a decrease in death rates since 1990. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advancements, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.

For women in the United States, breast cancer death rates are higher than any other cancer, besides lung cancer.

Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. More than 1 in 4 cancers are breast cancer.

White women, over the age of 40, have a higher rate of breast cancer than African American women over the age of 40. However, African American women under the age of 40 have a higher breast cancer rate than white women under the age of 40, and are more likely to die from this disease.
As of 2007, there are about 2.5 million American women who have survived breast cancer.
A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) that has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 20% – 30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer.

About 5-10% of breast cancers are caused by inherited gene mutations.

Mutations of the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes are the most common. Women with this mutation have up to an 80% risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetime, often at a younger age. An increased ovarian cancer risk is also associated with these genetic mutations.

The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are gender (being a woman) and age (growing older).

For more information (and where I found these facts) go here.  The geniuses behind my shirt can be found here.

This post is dedicated to an amazing woman, my grandmother, Shirley Lalli, a breast cancer survivor.  She was brave enough to go through a double mastectomy and the reconstruction after.  Now her new boobs will always be perkier than mine. ;o)

Green Thumb

Luke built a garden.  He built the boxes.  He built the PVC frame.  He wrapped the frame in chicken wire.

Desert Info: Chicken wire is a MUST here.  Desperate animals eat green things.  Even the ground has chicken wire covering it because we don't want anything to dig up under our plants. 

He stapled (yes, with our little blue office paper stapler) the shade cover to the top of his PVC frame. 

Desert Info: Too much sun = too hot = dead plants within a day.

Yesterday the garden was officially prepped and ready to have plants be planted and seeds sown. So we did. 

Aslynn came out with us and helped dig in the dirt and spray me with the hose.

The Mecham's Garden contains: tomato; three different types of summer squash; red, yellow and green bell peppers; beans; cucumbers; and peas (which might die from the heat, but don't tell Luke that). 

These pictures are only of one box.  In the other one we planted seeds.  Luke tried to convince me to take pictures of the planted seeds, but I said no because the picture would be of dirt.

We are hoping everything will grow. 

Luke is so excited for his garden!  He's like a little boy: "Do you think it needs more water?"
"No Luke, we just soaked it ten minutes ago." 
"Are you sure?  I better go check." 

Two boxes will remain empty until later in the summer.  In late August or early September we will plant things that like the cooler weather.

California's Got You Beat

Let me take a minute to brag about where I live. You might be thinking that there isn’t much to brag about, and you’re kind of right, but kind of not.

Nothing can compare to:

Yucca Valley sunsets. They are breathtaking almost every evening. The colors are amazing!

The smell of the rain. It rained on Sunday for a whopping five whole minutes, but it was enough for me to smell that wonderful desert rain smell all the way in the Primary room. I even left for a couple minutes so that I could go outside and take big, deep breaths. My theory is that the rain smells better here because we (people and landscape alike) appreciate it more because it happens so rarely.

A big, fat, low-in-the-sky, orange moon at least once a week.

Starry nights. You’ve never seen stars until you’ve seen them here.

This world is a beautiful place!

*NOTE: I did not take any of these pictures! I found them all online with the help of Google.*

My Living Room was Clean Today...

...wanna see?

The proof is in the pictures.

I know, I know - we need more furniture.  But good furniture is dag-gum expensive and I just can't bring myself to make another large purchase!  Watching large amounts of hard-earned cash dissapear from my bank account is just too hard on my worry wart nerves!

And plus, I haven't found EXACTLY what I want yet. ;o)

Puddle on the Porch

We have been meaning to get Z a little, plastic pool, but we haven't and she might never get one now.

*I like the reflection.*

Why get a pool when the front porch works just as well?

The concrete is slightly concaved, allowing for just the right amount of water to pool creating a wonderful splash zone to cool off in.

*I turn the camera, don't worry.*

*This is my action/jumping shot - we'll work on it...*

Aslynn and I beat the heat today for a couple of hours by playing on the porch in the water and “cohwoing” with the wet sidewalk chalk.

Aslynn’s favorite part was the water. Mine was the chalk; it is a lot of fun to draw with the wet chalk and watch it dry to powder almost instantly on the concrete. Aslynn liked the chalk too until I took it away because she ate ¼ of a stick. Ew.

Max joined us for a bit until he snuggled close to me and refused to get up. The Munchkin demanded he be put back in the house; he was of no use to her anymore because she could no longer drag him around.

*She's saying, "Max! Sit!" It's her go-to saying to get his attention. She doesn't do it in this video, but when she doesn't say the "sit" after "Max," she really enunciates her "x." I am so proud of her.*