THANK YOU!

HOLY COW!!!

Swiss Days was amazing and I have all of you guys to thank! We did better than we could have ever imagined!

I will post all the remainder items for sale on our website within the next week!

Be on the look out for us at Santa's Workshop or Dickens Festival with new items and original creations (we haven't decided which one to do yet).

Swiss Days

It's coming. Swiss Days. It is a wonderful tradition of my little town, Santa Clara. I am happy to announce that my business, PaddiCakes (see link to the right or click here) has a booth this year. We just got our new shipment of dresses and are also really excited to launch a few new products this year. We haven't got the new inventory on our website yet. Check back in later to see it all. If you are in the area, stop by our booth. Say "hi." Even if I don't seem to recognize you (darn chemo-head....I forget entirely too much lately)!

Swiss Days is this Friday and Saturday, September 25-26.

In the meantime, here is a sneak peak at some of our dresses:

Josher's

I took these pictures the other day on Josh's first day of preschool. I love 'em. I have to give a shout out to my husband (who never reads this blog) for giving me such an awesome camera! Thanks babe! Love ya!

This is Ally, my neice. She is sooooo photogenic!

(don't forget to check out my website/other blog: Footloose and Cancer Free)

Pure genuis...

Just to clarify the last post. The stunt performed by my kids were nothing less than an act of pure genius (sense the sarcasm in my writing). I am always getting after my kids to not do idiotic things that may cause harm. This was one of those.
No.
No trampoline.
No soft cushioning to break the landing.
No water.
Just ground.
They thought it would be fun to see who could get the highest. I have the proof. Now, when they get hurt I can say, "I told you so."
I consistently tell them I don't have sympathy when they get hurt doing stunts like these.
Take Drue, for example, I walked in the living room just in time to see her jump off the chair on to nothing but carpet, flat on her rear. Oh. She cried. Did I show any emotion? Nope. I don't doubt that she hurt herself. I held her but told her it was only at the fault of herself.

It is only a miracle that we have never had any broken bones...knock on wood.

You decide

Is this safe?!

Is this safe?!

Now I've done it...

I have created a new blog.
I am sending you all this link and encourage you to get the word out for me. That's right. I started this blog for people who want to relate to anything I have to say. It is called

Footloose and Cancer Free.

It is not just for people have cancer though. I am hoping to bring some humor and helpful insights to people of all ages. Feel free to leave comments and send me tips. I am more than happy to post any input anyone has to offer. Whether you have personally experienced it, know someone who has or just think you might have something useful to say drop me a word or 2 at paigeallred@yahoo.com
I may even publish your thoughts if you want me to.
So far, my first post I took from the inspiration of my Sister-in-Law, Claire. You may want to read her inspiring story of a painful in-grown toenail here.

Uh....I never know how to title my posts so this is all you get.

It's official. I am a slacker. We just spent a fantastic week in Georgia with family and friends. I took my camera to confirm the memories. However, everyplace we went, I forgot to actually take out my camera and snap the shots. I didn't get one single photo of the entire 8 days we were there. For all you know, we never went. There is no proof. No visual evidence of our stay other than my word.

It was beautiful and we had a pleasant time. The kids turned into fish and swam nearly all day everyday in the pool. My niece and nephew (Chay, 12 years old; D'monte, 8 years old) had never been on an airplane. The flight there was slightly bumpy. We sat in the very back of the plane and every time we hit turbulence the kids would whoop and hollar like a ride at Disneyland. The lady in front of me turned around at one point and said, "At least their having fun." I would have to agree. Ahhhhhh. To be a child again and enjoy some of the simpler things of life.

I need to first say that I am very happy to be healthy and alive. So, when you read the rest, you don't find me ungrateful.
I love my family and am thankful that I was literally give a second chance at life.
However.....(here it comes).....I am getting extremely frustrated with the insurance bureaucracy. I still have not gotten my 2nd mastectomy, even though I have a high percentage of it coming back if I don't get it done. My insurance has said they are not going to pay for it because it is not medically necessary. Wha?!?!?
So their reasoning is that they don't want to pay for it now because it is cosmetic, but they are willing to pay for me to go through chemo and radiation again (all of which cost waayyyyyy more than a simple mastectomy). Does any of this make sense? The only way they will cover the cost is if I have cancer in that side (thank heavens I don't) or if I test positive for the BRCA gene (a test that confirms you carry the breast cancer gene). Well, a year ago, they denied the claim of the BRCA test because they said I was at too much of a risk (meaning I was going to die anyway, so what is the point in paying for it)! Really, I am not making this up.
So, in conclusion? I am alive. Yippee! I am still in remission! I have a wonderful family! I am on my way to changing my gender.......okay just kidding on the last part. But sometimes that is how I feel. I have no reproductive organs, a half a set of ta-ta's, and my hair is still boy short (but growing rapidly).
Really, I am very grateful for everything I have. I just have months of frustration building up that I just released on this pathetic blog.
Any advice??????