As we move closer and closer to the holidays, I'm feeling a wee bit anxious. Sort of like waiting for the proverbial stuff to hit the fan. Caregiving is like that. A caregiver named Fern, quoted on About.com, said: “I wish the calendar would flip directly from November to January. We just got settled into our routine since Mom moved in with us. As I look at my calendar, all I see are more things on the to-do list, extra burdens, and the chaos of disrupted schedules.”

In our family, it's the really weird unique gift that is the most memorable. It's the quirky gift that sets the bar for all future holiday gifting. If it's not unusual, it almost doesn't count.

I'm not a huge fan of scales. I'd like them a lot better if they were only used as tools to assist people in maintaining a healthy lifestyle or to help medical professionals treat patients. Unfortunately the scale is more often used as a weapon to harm ourselves and others (and the harm is done primarily to women.)

Wait, don't click away. This isn't just another I hate breast cancer month post, I swear it isn't. It's different because I'm going to admit that I didn't always hate breast cancer month. Way back in 1985 when the pharmaceutical company now known as AstraZeneca kicked out the idea, I thought it was cool. A woman's health issue taking the stage. What wasn't to like?

October has always been one of my favorite months of they year. Nice weather, Canadian Thanksgiving, my birthday, Halloween and let's face it, anything is better than September. But really, the best thing about October is the DonorsChoose Social Media Challenge (formerly known as the DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge.)