Today is Thanksgiving. Growing up, I spent Thanksgiving at my great-grandmother's, packed into a small ranch house in my hometown, full to the brim with extended family arguing over politics, decorating the Christmas tree, and watching Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in a tiny bedroom with my cousins. The evening usually involved lots of food, lots of pictures, but absolutely no shopping. Now, we still caught a few minutes of Willie Wonka on television while eating our Thanksgiving Eve dinner fresh from a neurology appointment. My husband browsing the net to see what kind of crazy Black Friday deals are happening, and I'm posting to my Jamberry Independent Consultant page with the Black Friday deals going on within the Jamberry universe. That's how I'm earning a little income while I am home with whatever-is-happening-to-my-feet that's making it difficult to walk. With everything that has happened this year, I've missed 11 weeks of work, and counting. There are serious benefits to working from my couch.
"Wow, this store is guaranteeing a $200 television to anyone who is in line at 6pm on Thanksgiving!" my husband exclaims. "Do you think we'll be done with dinner by then? That's an amazing deal."
It is an amazing deal. Stores these days realize the amount of money that is up for grabs for anyone who is offering rock bottom prices for fancy electronics and other big ticket items. I mean, a department store is advertising a deal on an XBox One! We've all seen the insane footage of people trampling one another to make sure THEY GET THAT DEAL. I've participated a few times in my adult life, especially when I was in need of a particular item and wanted to spend the least amount of money possible. Thanksgiving with my in-laws typically involves peeking at the Black Friday flyers during dessert, and two years ago, we ran into traffic heading home from dinner because we lived in close proximity to a mall. Somehow, though, I just can't stomach the early evening shopping on Thanksgiving. Whatever happened to the good ol' turkey nap? Time with family? Savoring the evening and just enjoying great food and company?
Then there are the retail employees. I doubt that employees are arriving at 6pm for these sales. More likely, there are cashiers and people stocking inventory early Thanksgiving morning, and I'm positive there will be overnight shifts as the push into the biggest retail weekend of the year begins. There's no way of stopping this money-making train when incredible deals are drawing customers to line up around the block. While I'm not going to make any judgments about whether or not anyone participates (including my husband), there is something we can do to achieve at least a little bit of balance in all this chaos.
I've decided to become a social media ambassador for #GivingTuesday, a movement to bring back the spirit of giving that makes this time of year so special. Here at Ask Me About My Endo, we have a strong belief in giving back to people in our Endometriosis community, and today I would like to encourage you to take part in #GivingTuesday with me. Right up above, we have a tab called Sponsor a Surgery. This is a page where we list women who are seeking or who have undergone excision surgery for Endometriosis. Excision surgery is a highly effective way of removing all of the disease from the body using wide margins and sending the tissue to pathology. As opposed to the most common surgical technique employed during a laparoscopic surgery for Endometriosis (ablation - burning the surface of the disease), the recurrence rate for excision is low. Women who have this surgery have a far lower chance of their pain from Endometriosis returning because ALL of the disease has been removed from root to tip. There are only a handful of surgeons in the United States who perform this surgery effectively, so many women have to travel for quality care. Some insurance companies deny coverage for this surgery, or the surgeon is out-of-network, so the cost of this surgery is higher than the less effective types of treatment. The financial burden is high, and we at Ask Me About My Endo are on a mission to help in whatever way we can. We host links to fundraisers for some of these women, and we donate sales from our Etsy shop to these fundraisers. Ruby the Endo Roo, our mascot, is sold in our Etsy shop, handcrafted by yours truly, and $10 from each sale is donated directly to the fundraisers.
This coming Tuesday, I'm asking you to help us make a difference. If you are able, please consider making a donation to an Endometriosis cause. There are non-profit organizations that are dedicated to further Endometriosis research, providing support, and advocating for awareness and high quality care for women with Endometriosis. Many of these organizations have made a huge difference in my life, and they have most certainly made a difference in our community. The Endometriosis Research Center, the World Endometriosis Research Foundation, and the women listed on our website are some worthy causes that we would love to encourage you to consider. Whether or not you're able to contribute, I hope you will join me in being a social media ambassador and help spread the word about donating to charity on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you will join me in promoting the spirit of giving this holiday season.
"Wow, this store is guaranteeing a $200 television to anyone who is in line at 6pm on Thanksgiving!" my husband exclaims. "Do you think we'll be done with dinner by then? That's an amazing deal."
It is an amazing deal. Stores these days realize the amount of money that is up for grabs for anyone who is offering rock bottom prices for fancy electronics and other big ticket items. I mean, a department store is advertising a deal on an XBox One! We've all seen the insane footage of people trampling one another to make sure THEY GET THAT DEAL. I've participated a few times in my adult life, especially when I was in need of a particular item and wanted to spend the least amount of money possible. Thanksgiving with my in-laws typically involves peeking at the Black Friday flyers during dessert, and two years ago, we ran into traffic heading home from dinner because we lived in close proximity to a mall. Somehow, though, I just can't stomach the early evening shopping on Thanksgiving. Whatever happened to the good ol' turkey nap? Time with family? Savoring the evening and just enjoying great food and company?
Then there are the retail employees. I doubt that employees are arriving at 6pm for these sales. More likely, there are cashiers and people stocking inventory early Thanksgiving morning, and I'm positive there will be overnight shifts as the push into the biggest retail weekend of the year begins. There's no way of stopping this money-making train when incredible deals are drawing customers to line up around the block. While I'm not going to make any judgments about whether or not anyone participates (including my husband), there is something we can do to achieve at least a little bit of balance in all this chaos.
I've decided to become a social media ambassador for #GivingTuesday, a movement to bring back the spirit of giving that makes this time of year so special. Here at Ask Me About My Endo, we have a strong belief in giving back to people in our Endometriosis community, and today I would like to encourage you to take part in #GivingTuesday with me. Right up above, we have a tab called Sponsor a Surgery. This is a page where we list women who are seeking or who have undergone excision surgery for Endometriosis. Excision surgery is a highly effective way of removing all of the disease from the body using wide margins and sending the tissue to pathology. As opposed to the most common surgical technique employed during a laparoscopic surgery for Endometriosis (ablation - burning the surface of the disease), the recurrence rate for excision is low. Women who have this surgery have a far lower chance of their pain from Endometriosis returning because ALL of the disease has been removed from root to tip. There are only a handful of surgeons in the United States who perform this surgery effectively, so many women have to travel for quality care. Some insurance companies deny coverage for this surgery, or the surgeon is out-of-network, so the cost of this surgery is higher than the less effective types of treatment. The financial burden is high, and we at Ask Me About My Endo are on a mission to help in whatever way we can. We host links to fundraisers for some of these women, and we donate sales from our Etsy shop to these fundraisers. Ruby the Endo Roo, our mascot, is sold in our Etsy shop, handcrafted by yours truly, and $10 from each sale is donated directly to the fundraisers.
This coming Tuesday, I'm asking you to help us make a difference. If you are able, please consider making a donation to an Endometriosis cause. There are non-profit organizations that are dedicated to further Endometriosis research, providing support, and advocating for awareness and high quality care for women with Endometriosis. Many of these organizations have made a huge difference in my life, and they have most certainly made a difference in our community. The Endometriosis Research Center, the World Endometriosis Research Foundation, and the women listed on our website are some worthy causes that we would love to encourage you to consider. Whether or not you're able to contribute, I hope you will join me in being a social media ambassador and help spread the word about donating to charity on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you will join me in promoting the spirit of giving this holiday season.
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