welcome to spiceland.

Tru has been running the 1 mile fun runs with me when Mike and I run in local 5Ks. She has gotten really good at it, and at age 5, she can run a mile in 12 minutes without stopping. Naturally, when her school announced a fun run fundraiser, she got really excited. The idea is that the kids will collect pledges, like $1 per lap or quarter-mile, and the day of the run how far she runs will determine the total donation to the school. The school is running this fundraiser themselves, so the school gets to keep 100% of the money they raise. This is especially important. The school is only in its second year of operation, so supply stores and book inventories are low, and budget cuts have hurt all the schools around here as well.

Even worse, I haven’t collected any pledges yet, and Tru is getting discouraged. Her classmates are bringing in pledges, and she’s not! Because of this, I am calling on all of her family members to donate $1 per quarter-mile so that she feels like she has contributed to her school. It will cost you a total of $4, and Tru will have a sense of accomplishment not only for running 1 mile, but also for helping her school in this time of need.

Please respond and donate $4 to Tru’s school! She’ll be so appreciative of it, and I know she’ll feel so good about running for her school.

Mike and I are leaving in five minutes for the hospital for my laparoscopic cystectomy. Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers. It shouldn’t be a big deal. We’ll update everyone when we get back.

Update #1 5:00 PM: I’m home! I’m sore, but otherwise, I’m fine. I’m in pain when I’m not medicated, but I have lots of fun drugs to help me with that. Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts!

Update #2 Nov. 18th: Got confirmation last week that the tumor was benign. Yay.

I have been having some abdominal pain for a few weeks. Since I just stopped using my hormonal birth control in favor of a nonhormonal type which does not prevent ovarian cysts and I have a history of ovarian cysts, I figured my cysts must be back. When the pain got worse than I’d experienced from cysts before, I called my gynecologist and made an appointment. Today at that appointment, she did an ultrasound on my ovaries and found what she is pretty sure is a dermoid cyst, or ovarian teratoma. An ovarian teratoma is a tumor made from various types of body tissues, which can include skin, organ tissue, hair, neural tissue, bone tissue, and teeth, that grows inside an ovary. Most ovarian teratomas are noncancerous (benign) and can be removed very easily with laparoscopic surgery. She told me there is a small chance that this is a normal ovarian cyst with solid tissue inside that will be absorbed naturally by my body, but she’s pretty sure it’s a teratoma and that it will need to be removed. There is a small chance (1-2%) that it is malignant, but it is usually very easy to remove all of a teratoma since these types of tumors tend to form inside nicely secluded, sealed membranes. I have a second ultrasound scheduled for a month from now. If the mass is still there, she will schedule me for surgery sometime in December.

Please pray first and foremost that God’s will be done in this situation. Secondly, pray that this is indeed a benign tumor that can be removed easily.

We got Tru’s school pictures back today, and they are so cute! If anybody wants any, let me know what sizes and how many. Note that the lightish discoloration that starts above her left eye (your left) and extends rightward into the background is not in the picture, it’s on my scanner.

Update: Remember to let me know if you want any pictures! I’ve only gotten one order so far.

Who out there shops at Publix grocery stores or CVS Pharmacy? Would you be willing to let me send you a Publix or CVS card that is linked to Tru’s uPromise account so that you can save money on things you buy and earn cash back for Tru at the same time? Bonus: Since you’ll get it from me, it won’t have your contact information linked to it, so you won’t get any extra junk mail!

I have recently started using uPromise to save money. uPromise is a company that collaborates with retail and online stores in order to help consumers save money for college. For every dollar we spend at a participating uPromise store with the credit card we have linked to our uPromise account, we receive some percentage back into Tru’s uPromise savings account. We can invest that money and then use it to pay for Tru’s college. For instance, she receives 1% cash back on all purchases made at Walmart.com. Newegg.com, from whom we’ve been buying our electronics for years, also provides 1% cash back. Target.com provides 2%. Some stores provide up to 30% cash back, and some contribute a dollar amount when you sign up for an account there.

uPromise also has a way for friends and family to contribute to our account. You just sign up, link your credit cards to your uPromise account, and any uPromise earnings you receive will automatically be allocated toward Tru’s college fund. You would not be revealing your credit card information to anyone except uPromise, and you would never have anything charged to your credit card from uPromise. All they do is deposit money into Tru’s account based on where you shop. You can also shop online as our guest without linking your credit card to uPromise. This only works for online purchases, though.

We would really appreciate it if all our friends and family would sign up and help us save money for Tru’s college. In the least, you could keep shopping like normal and earn money on whatever you already happen to buy that qualifies.

Create a uPromise account. If you would like to create a uPromise account, let me know. I will send you an invitation from uPromise that will allow our accounts to be linked. Then, just keep shopping like normal.

Shop online as our guest. Use this link to shop online through uPromise. Cash back from purchases made through this part of the uPromise website will automatically be deposited in Tru’s college fund. Please bookmark this link so that you can use it anytime you purchase anything through one of these stores!

Here is a complete list of retailers who participate in uPromise. Here are some common examples:

1-800-FLOWERS.COM® 12%
Ace Hardware 3%
Aeropostale.com 2%
American Eagle Outfitters 2%
Ann Taylor 5% $
Ann Taylor LOFT 5%
audible.com $12 per registration
Avon.com 6%
Banana Republic 2%
Barnes & Noble.com 7%
Bass Pro Shops 4%
bedbathandbeyond.com 2%
BestBuy.com 3%
Blockbuster $12 per subscription
Borders.com 6%
Bose 4%
Brookstone 5%
Buy.com 1%
CB2 2% (this is a Crate and Barrel store)
ChampionUSA.com 4%
Charlotte Russe 4%
Chico’s 4%
Circuit City 3%
Clinique 5%
Comp USA 3%
Cooking.com 6%
CVS.com 5%
Danskin 3%
Dell Home Systems 4%
Dick’s Sporting Goods 6%
Dillard’s 2%
DSW 3%
eBay.com 2%
Expedia.com 1%
Fashion Bug 3%
Florist.com 10%
FlowerStore.com 15%
Foot Locker 4%
Fossil 10%
gap.com 5%
Ghirardelli Chocolate 4%
GiftCertificates.com 3%
GNC.com 9%
Hancock Fabrics 6%
homedepot.com 3%
Hotwire 1%
iRobot.com 6%
iTunes.com 2%
J.Crew 1%
JCPenney.com 3%
Justice 3%
Kmart.com 4%
Kohl’s 3%
L.L.Bean 2%
Lane Bryant 3%
Limited Too 3%
Macys.com 5%
Marriott 2%
McDonald’s 5%
Musician’s Friend 6%
National Geographic 6%
Netflix $12 per membership
New Balance 5%
New York and Company 4%
newegg.com 1%
OfficeDepot.com 2%
OfficeMax.com 2%
oldnavy.com 5%
Omaha Steaks 10%
Oriental Trading Company 5%
Overstock.com 3%
PETCO 7%
PetSmart.com 5%
Pottery Barn Teen 4%
PotteryBarn.com 4%
potterybarnkids.com 4%
Proactiv Solution 13%
RadioShack 2%
RalphLauren.com 5%
Sam’s Club 1%
Sears.com 4%
Shutterfly.com 8%
Simply Audiobooks 34%
SIRIUS Satellite Radio 6%
SKECHERS 3%
Sports Authority 4%
Staples.com 1%
StarbucksStore.com 7%
Target.com 2%
The Body Shop 6%
The Children’s Place 4%
The Limited 2%
The North Face 5%
TiVo $15 per subscription
Travelocity.com 1%
TurboTax 6%
VictoriasSecret.com 2%
Walgreens 4%
Walmart.com 1%
wet seal 4%
Williams-Sonoma 4%
Zales 4%

Tru’s school, Faith Christian Academy is having a fundraiser through Charleston Wraps. One of the prizes is being driven to lunch away from the school in a limo. She wants to do this very badly and must sell 35 items to be able to go. Please look through the list of items below and purchase something so that she will be able to go! If you purchase from the website, enter Student Code 456372 or Tru will not get credit for it. Free shipping on orders over $75! Alternatively, you can email me at erin@thespicelands.com or comment here with the three digit item number and quantity, and I will handle your order and deliver it to you.

Christmas Gifts
Candles
Collegiate Gifts
Flowers and Gardening
Gadgets
Gifts for Her
Gift Giving and Home Decor
Gift Wrapping Paper, including Christmas, birthday, and all-purpose paper
Gift Wrapping Accessories, including bags, ribbon, tools, and tags
Gourmet Chocolates
Jewelry
Kitchen Collection
Magazines
Personalized Gifts, including bags, mugs,
Religious Gifts
Stuff for Kids
Stationery and Calendars
Unique Edible Goodies and Gifts

Well, we’ve finally migrated completely off our own software. We just can’t compete with the likes of Google and WordPress, so we’re joining the masses. WordPress gives us much more flexibility in formatting and adding new content, as well as managing the old content. What do you think?

A free Christmas cookie goes to the first person who comments with a decoded message from this image.

HINT: It is a barcode.

ANOTHER HINT: There is barcode software for most smartphones that uses the built in camera.

YET ANOTHER HINT: There are also software programs for PCs for those without smartphones.

Good luck!

Heidi has developed a rash as a result of some of her clothing being outfitted with tagless labels. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission released an advisory related to this, but Heidi seems to be reacting to clothing not included in that avisory, too. I filed a report with the CPSC and with Carter’s, since her reaction doesn’t exactly fall within the bounds of current reports, but I don’t know if they will do much about it. Carter’s has offered to take the clothing back and send me a refund. Any of you considering purchasing baby clothes for anyone should be aware of this and specifically look for clothing without stamped, stenciled, or ink labels on them and buy clothes with regular cloth sewn-in tags instead.