Kendra's Favorite Things

Fact: I do not have cable. 

Tyrone Wells' "And the Birds Sing"... the beat, the lyrics... just LOVE it!

If I end up as an eternal bachelorette, I would like for my house to look just like this, thank you.

Time to get personal! Those of you who know me well, you may know that I have struggled with Anxiety for virtually my entire life and that over the last 8 or so years I've been on and off several medications to help with it. It was never my intention to be over-medicated, mis-medicated, or get stuck in a haze; but that's what ended up happening.

I made a conscious decision about 2 months ago, that I wanted to get off my current medication as I really felt that any of the positive benefits I had seen from it were no longer present. So, I worked a plan out with my Dr. and after a few weeks of withdrawals, I am now Rx free!

If you are asking yourself, "Why would Kendra share something so personal on her very public blog?" The simple answer is this... There are so many people out there that suffer from anxiety at so many different levels, and I don't think it's anything to be embarrassed about for any of us. It is simply a disease and just like any other disease we have no control over who is affected by it. My other two reasons are that I am incredibly proud of myself for being able to make the decision that now is the time I'd like to be medication free, and lastly I'm beyond happy that the results have been amazing thus far.

First things first, to not have to wake up and be summoned to take a pill every day is the first bonus for me. Secondly, I have WAY more energy. And most importantly I feel that my good emotions have made their way back in, and the bad ones have subsided. (Quick explanation... good emotions/feelings are the normal every day, happy, sad, excited, annoyed, determined, frustrated... bad emotions/feelings are the extreme and abnormal racing thoughts, ambiguity, passiveness, fatigue, and inability to control these and other feelings/thoughts).

I feel like I'm back in control and it's clear to me that I was not being treated correctly for the past two years. Instead of being upset about that, I am enjoying the way I feel now and looking forward to continuing to treat my anxiety in other ways. I have been taking a more holistic route and even over a short period of time I have noticed great results. My new regimen consists of regular Yoga, acupuncture, less alcohol consumption and a cleaner and healthier diet. Seems like a no-brainer to feeling great huh?!?

Obviously, this is not something that will ever be cured in my life, but my hope is that by actively taking control and knowing that the results can be great even without medication, that a long term goal can be to keep this as something that only affects my life minimally.

ahhh.... that's a well deserved sigh of relief from yours truly!

As you know, last November I participated in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for a Cure walk. I raised over $2,300 dollars to help fund research studies to find a cure for Breast Cancer. I walked 60 miles (about 45 of them in the pouring rain) over the course of 3 days. I met people who'd fought Breast Cancer and won, I met peopled who'd lost their loved ones to it, and I met people who were currently battling through this awful disease at the time.

One of the most important things I took away from participating in this walk is that raising $2,300 and walking 60 miles in a weekend is NOTHING compared to the amount of physical and emotional pain that goes along with a Breast Cancer diagnosis (and the diagnosis is just the beginning)!

I've decided that once wasn't enough so this year I'll be walking another 60 miles November 19th-21st and I need your help.

I know times are tough right now; 401-K's are down, cost of living is going up, and the act of being employed is getting harder and harder to manage with lay-offs and cutbacks.

I understand completely that money is tight, but I am encouraging you to give what you can, even if it's $5 or $10. I am sending this e-mail to over 100 people today, and if each of you contributed just $5, together we would raise $500 towards finding a cure for this life-altering disease.

Imagine a world with no breast cancer. Imagine a mother not having to fight for her life so she can enjoy it with her children. Imagine a world where you and I don't have to wonder if we'll be the next diagnosis. Imagine a cure.

Please visit www.the3day.org/goto/kendraleedwyer to make a donation.

"Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much." -Helen Keller

Thank you,
Kendra Lee Dwyer

For some reason this week has just been one of those weeks where I've had several friends come to me feeling a little low or I've felt extra far away from my long distance friends... so I thought to myself about what really makes me feel happy when I have the blues and MUSIC was the answer.

I've made several play lists this week; some to pick people up, and some to make them feel just a little bit closer to home, and in the process I felt good about it and had a great time listening to the music I love. While the art of making a play list is something I've always enjoyed, it's coming up with the title that really gets me going. Once you find the perfect set of songs to allocate to a loved one... topping it off with a "Ready, set, happy..." or "Namaste" or "That's Mrs. Collins to you sir"... it just makes me smile to know that it's going to brighten someone else's day!

Play on!
DJ K

Oh doesn't he just make us so proud in the last picture?!?!? Wednesday was my brother's 30th Birthday and I'm off to AZ to celebrate the first friend I ever made, and the best friend I've ever had. I've had  a lot of fun putting together his Birthday present and it doesn't surprise me all the nice things that people have to say about my brother. Genuine, hilarious, best guy, great friend, typical Leo, loyal, best prom date, the only reason for getting out of bed in the morning, great man, the big bro I never had, one of a kind... these are the things that people have to say about my bro... and I whole-heartily agree with them!

JD is the type of person that everyone wants to be around. If you were to put all of his buddies in a room and ask each of them separately who their best friend was, they'd all say JD without a doubt. He's dependable but still tons of fun, responsible but not afraid to bring out his Irish side, and hilarious but able to get serious when someone needs sticking up for (especially when it comes to his wife or 'lis sis)!

Here's to a weekend full of fun for the best guy I know.

Today my good deed for the day was emulating something by brother has represented his whole life; being generous. Throughout our lives we've never really needed for anything, in fact, we've been lucky enough to have everything we've ever wanted, and then some.

I've had a pair of very gently used Nike's underneath my desk since I started at the Convention Center over 3 years ago. It occurred to me yesterday that I have only had a need to wear them a few times, and considering I have a handful of other running shoes that I actually wear on a regular basis, I thought my good deed for the day could be to give these to someone who would actually need and appreciate them.

Our offices are cleaned on a regular basis by our cleaning staff and I've always taken that for granted. Today one of the ladies that was on duty was an incredibly sweet woman named Maria who I've actually come to know well over the last few years. I looked at her feet and decided she looked like a size 7.5 so I asked her if she wanted to take a look at the shoes and if she liked them.

She loved the shoes, but her response is really what blew me away. She mentioned to me that she collects shoes and clothing for incredibly poor families in Tijuana and that she knew the perfect person that would benefit from these. It amazed me that I could tell she wanted to keep them for herself, but she knows that someone else actually really NEEDS them, and they'd be better off with them. This made me smile and I hope it makes my brother smile too! Happy 30th Big Bro... I did this because I know you'd do the same thing!

One of my favorite people in the world is turning 30 tomorrow, my brother. In honor of this epic event I have been thinking a lot about what to get him and how to make the best impact on his special day. I have been working on a secret project for several weeks, but another one that I just thought of is to do 30 Good Deeds over the next 30 Days. Starting tomorrow I will do one good deed a day in honor of my Big Bro. I'll be posting what they are so, stay tuned! :) Happy 30th Jid... you're one of a kind!

That's the sound of me taking a big, deep, cleansing breath. Ahhhhh......  

For the past few months I have been having a bit of an issue with my left foot. I sort of brushed it off because I figured it was just from a run gone bad (or from wearing 4" heels all day long every day)....

Then in mid-June I dropped a mermaid on my foot, for real. It is a wrought iron statue that looked oh so cute in my bathroom, that is until I dropped this 10 pound fish-woman on my foot. When it happened I actually cried from being in pain, which isn't something that happens very often, most of the time any tears that fall from these eyes are not caused by physical pain.

So for the last 5 weeks or so, my foot has been in pain and swollen. Apparently yesterday was the day that I'd had enough so I went to the Dr.

The Good News: Nothing is broken or fractured and I can still practice yoga.

The Bad News: I have a contusion (fancy word for a bruise) on my bone, AND Planter Fasciitis. What is that you ask? Well, when I googled it the first thing that came up said "Planter Fasciitis is bad." Gee, thanks for clarifying. It is essentially caused by wearing non-supportive shoes. Damn it Jimmy, why can't you just make more supportive shoes?!?

The Terrible News: Verbatem from my Dr's note: "This patient is placed on modified activity at work and at home from 8/2/11 through 8/31/2011. Patient must wear tennis shoes with orthodic at all times for 1 month. If modified activity is not accommodated by patients employer then the patient is considered temporarily and totally disabled from their regular work.

My Dr. basically told me the only time I don't have to wear tennis shoes is if I'm sleeping or doing yoga, or walking around on carpet (which I don't have, ha!) So, today I have one of my favorite dresses on with.....wait for it, my Running shoes!!!! Ah, this is going to be a fun month.