As busy women with hectic calendars, we are always looking for ways to make more time for play in our days. With this in mind, Peapod, the online grocery shopping and delivery service, invited the Girlfriends-In-Chief and some fellow bloggers on a warehouse tour to show us how they could make our lives easier with the click of a mouse. As busy wives and moms, we were all quick to see how Peapod could help de-stress our domestic lives.

Perky Produce

Look Who Greeted Us!

It’s Cold in There

Our tour guide, Tony Stallone, Peapod’s Produce Guru, helped to put all our apprehensions about grocery stores of the 21st century to rest. Being skeptical yet savvy consumers, we initially thought that one would have to physically go to a store to get the freshest produce. But Tony was convincingly quick to point out that in order for Peapod’s service to succeed, the produce has to be better than the produce you would pick for yourself.  Simply put, if you were to pick bad cherries, you would only have yourself to blame. If Peapod were to send you bad cherries, it would not only be the pits for you but for them as well because as a consumer, you’re going to complain. Peapod’s produce goes through a careful inspection process. The fruits and vegetables are not only hand-selected but they are also tasted to ensure a positive experience for the customer. After touring the many different temperature zones in the warehouse (which, it seemed to us, were cool, chilly, cold, colder and freezing—because Peapod takes pride in never breaking the chain of coldness the entire time the food is in their warehouse) and walking among the peppers and apples (each have their own temperature-and humidity-controlled zone, by the way), we were sold on the quality of Peapod’s produce. The fruit in their warehouse looks much better than the room-temperature fruit selection we see at our local Jewel or Ultra. We won’t think twice when it comes to ordering a fruit tray or appetizers from Peapod for our next girls night.

Just a side note, the Produce Guru has his own blog about *drumroll please* produce which you can find here. He is very knowledgeable when it comes to selecting and storing produce: even grandma would be impressed. Here are a few of the tips he shared with us en toure.

• Strawberries – Inspect the entire box of strawberries, don’t be afraid to turn the box over. The strawberries on the bottom and sides of the box will go bad first. Look especially at the shoulders of the strawberries, that’s where bruising occurs first.  Strawberries will last longer if kept at a colder temperature.
• Apples – Refrigerate them. Keep them cold or they will go mealy.
• Avocado – If the button pops off the end easily Makes, it is ripe.
• Guacomole Dip – To store dip overnight without it turning black, place a plain piece of saran wrap over the dip and gently press down until all of the air is out of dip. Keeping the air from coming in contact with the dip will ensure it stays green.

Entertaining Essentials

Order Picks

If you’d like to read some of our blogger girlfriends’ take on the tour and see some more pictures, you can check them out here:

West of the Loop – Emily

Peanut Butter In My Hair – Melissa

Disclosure:  We were invited to tour the Peapod warehouse and given a goodie bag which included a tee shirt, thermal mug, gift card, and produce. We were not asked to write this post, nor were we compensated for doing so. As always, the opinions expressed are strictly our own. GirlfriendCelebrations belongs to the Peapod affiliate program, which means if you click a Peapod ad on our site and make a purchase, we may be compensated.

We had the opportunity to guest blog about entertaining shortcuts on the beautiful entertaining blog Second City Soiree last week and we wanted to give you a peek, girlfriends! Our girlfriend Jen does such a great job bringing you easy, chic entertaining tips as well as gorgeous photography. We were so flattered to be asked to be part of her guest blogger project!

“Are you known as a hostess with the mostess, or do you cringe at the thought of company? Some of us are more gifted than others in the entertaining department—but don’t let that stop you from having the girls over. At GirlfriendCelebrations, we think it’s better to have an imperfect party than not have one at all. We‘ve perfected the art of “shortcut” entertaining. So stop procrastinating and start planning your next girls night with these tips.”

Read the rest, including how to cheat on cleaning, and how to give a potluck pizzazz, on Second City Soiree.

Girlfriend-in-Chief Dawn checks out the Camaro

GirlfriendCelebrations is hitting the road, courtesy of Chevrolet, and we want YOU to tell us where to go. We recently attended a fabulous blogger event at Hard Rock Hotel Chicago, put on by our girlfriends at Silicon Valley Moms Group and Chicago Moms Blog. We learned about a lot of interesting products and services, some of  which we’ll be sharing with you soon. We also were among ten lucky bloggers selected to test drive a Chevy for a weekend this summer. Not only are we excited to get our hands on a brand new car—we can choose among some great vehicles including Chevy’s Camaro, Equinox, Tahoe, and Traverse—but we want to make our little excursion as GIRL-FRIENDLY as possible! And, in keeping with the spirit of the Chevy Missions project in Illinois, we are also thinking of ways to use our Chevy vehicle to serve others. As always, our goal is to give YOU more ideas for ways to have fun and meaningful times with YOUR girlfriends. We want to make this good, girlfriends, and we need your ideas! So please, leave your comments on this post with suggestions for:

• Girlfriend getaway destinations – drivable from Chicago in a weekend?
• Service project ideas  - perhaps utilizing a larger vehicle?
• Other ways to use a vehicle for some good girlfriendly fun? (and don’t say camping – though that would make for some entertaining reading!)

We’re looking forward to hearing what you suggest, and to bringing you our adventure later this summer. Thanks, girlfriends!

Photo by the immensely talented Lahleyoo!

Hey, girlfriends! Want to read more about making, having and keeping friends? We’re pleased to announce that GirlfriendCelebrations has joined forces with four other fabulous blogs to create The Friendship Circle, keeping our online girlfriends better informed on ALL the news that’s fit to publish about friendship. If you’re visiting us here, we think you’ll enjoy visiting them, too. Let’s take a look:

The Friendship Blog: The Friendship Doctor, Irene Levine, dispenses smart and compassionate friendship advice. As a clinical psychologist and award-winning author, she is eminently qualified!

Girlfriendology: The online community for women based on inspiration, appreciation and celebration of female friendship. Founder Debba Haupert blogs frequently and interviews inspiring women.

GirlfriendCircles: Shasta Nelson blogs about how to make friends, drawn from her experiences as the founder of GirlfriendCircles, a service that matches women up with potential friends in their cities.

MWFseekingBFF: Rachel Bertsche explores the challenges of trying to make a new friend, chronicling her friendship quest with thoughtful and thought-provoking writing.

GirlfriendCelebrations: And of course, you’ll find ideas for how to spend your girlfriend time on GirlfriendCelebrations. Since 2005, we’ve been providing original thoughts on everything from girls night in to girlfriend getaways, along with articles that help you make the most of your friendships.

Happy reading, girlfriends!

For many, making new friends can be a daunting project.  Let’s face it, putting yourself out there to risk feeling rejected is a shoe than many are not eager to fill. But studies show that finding girlfriends to laugh with and confide in will  not only make you feel better, but can be a life saver as well. Our girlfriend Jessica over at The Improbable Housewife has had to put on that shoe of

A lot of love in the room

By Jessica, The Improbable Housewife

Are You a Recluse? Girl, You Need to Get a Friend!

Are you one of those people who make friends easily? Do you thrive in social situations? Have you ever thought that the quiet individual hanging back on the side of the group must be stuck up or unfriendly? Why isn’t she participating in the conversation… after all, it is just the girls. Or, are you that girl?

Do You Have a Difficult Time Making Friends?

Be Confident
Have you ever thought of faking it until you make it? Simply put: Act more confident than you are until you become the confident person you want to be. It really can work.

Case in point: I was shy at heart, introverted to a fault, and was never one to start up conversations with strangers. It wasn’t a bad thing; it was just who I was.

Then I found myself trapped in a stressful situation and I needed a friend. My husband was on an overseas military remote assignment and I was left setting up a new home after a move across the country with a two-year-old and an infant. You heard me right, I needed a friend. This wasn’t optional; it simply had to happen for my sanity.

Where do you find new friends?

Look in your comfort zone

Have you ever moved to a new area where you had to start all over? Or, maybe you are just at a crossroads in your life and you need friends who share common interests? You don’t have to be afraid to take the leap to make new friendships. Take baby steps. Yes, you need to step outside your comfort zone, but it can be done in places where you are comfortable.

Parks

If you are a mom with young children, your neighborhood park is the perfect place to make friends. Moms are there with their kids and want to have adult conversations. I guarantee you won’t be the only one there open to a new friendship.

Work

Do you have a coworker you like to chat with? Make a date for a girl’s night out! You’re already friendly, so this is just taking an extra step.

Community

Are you new in the neighborhood? Strike up a conversation with your neighbor while you are out in the yard and ask if they know of a neighborhood Girls Night Out. Then GO!

Kids’ Activities

Do you talk to any of the moms at your child’s sporting events? Why not? You have something in common; you might as well be chummy while you’re watching… especially if there are a lot of practices involved.

Step Outside The Box

There are so many places where you can meet people, have conversations and make friends if you choose to step outside your box and expose yourself to the possibility of rejection. Yes, we are all afraid of it. Really, we shouldn’t be. You’ve heard it before… if at first you don’t succeed, try again.

What are ways that you step outside your comfort zone to establish friendships?

GirlfriendCelebrations would love to hear your tips for making new friends. Be a friend: Leave a comment or tip for the next girlfriend about how to try on that shoe of uncertainty, take a risk and make a new friend. After all, a girl can never have too many girlfriends, can she?

Girlfriends, looking for something different to do for your February Girls Night? Try a Lunar New Year Celebration to gather with your girlfriends in the spirit of new beginning, good fortune, and colorful festivity. This girls night is certain to liven up your winter routine!

Lantern photo via flickr

Sometimes known as Chinese New Year, the Lunar New Year is actually celebrated throughout Asia. This year (2010), it falls on February 14 – making it a perfect alternative for those of you who want an alternative to Valentine’s Day.

Setting and Setup

With one visit to your local Chinatown, you can score loads of inexpensive decorations and other items to help you set the mood. Party supply stores are also beginning to carry “Chinese New Year” decorations. For a more subtle look, paper lanterns make a pretty and inexpensive way to set the mood at your party. We’ve seen these everywhere from party supply stores to Pottery Barn. Luna Bazaar is a good online source.

Decorating with red  and gold is traditional and symbolic. You may want to cover your front door with red paper, for example. Red signifies happiness and luck, and gold signifies wealth. These colors are in abundance at party supply stores.

Invitations

If you’re feeling ambitious, how about making fortune cookies with the party details inside? Yes, you’d have to hand-deliver them, but that makes the invite more special. Here’s how to do it (thanks to Second City Soiree for the tip.)

Not enough time? Okay, then Evite has some Chinese New Year templates for quick and easy inviting.

Food and Drink

This party just screams “ORDER OUT,” doesn’t it? Unless you’ve mastered some Asian specialties yourself, why not let the experts do it? An assortment of Chinese takeout served buffet style would be delicious. Be sure to include noodles in the menu, as they are traditionally served as a sign of longevity. Other traditional foods include whole fish to signify abundance, and greens for prosperity. Here is a great blog post detailing a Chinese New Year menu (homemade) and the significance of each item, with lots of photos. Use it for inspiration! It details how to make Lychee Bellinis using lychee nuts and prosecco (super simple and festive.  Why not whip some up for your girlfriends?)

Connecting Activities

Prepare red envelopes for each of your girlfriends. It is traditional to gift people with money in the envelopes on Chinese New Year. If that doesn’t feel right, how about preparing a personalized wish or intention for each girlfriend to usher in the new year? OR, have each girlfriend choose an envelope and write a wish to another guest, then have the recipients take turns reading them aloud. Traditional wishes are for happiness, wealth and longevity.

If you’re lucky enough to have a kumquat tree, (many people do as patio plants)  you can decorate it with the red envelopes. Kumquats, tangerines and oranges are also considered good luck.

Fun fortune cookies, as mentioned above, can also take a personalized twist. Make them fun or thoughtful.

Party Favors

A box of these Lunar Babies Chinese Zodiac notecards would be splurgy, but adorable. (Hat tip to Amy Chen of Gadling.com)

Or, a set of Feng Shui candles would be nice (here’s a super cheap source, but you have to buy 12)

Enjoy celebrating the Lunar New Year with your girlfriends. If you do, be sure to let us know how it goes!

Thanks to our blogging girlfriends MJ Tam, Nancy Loo and Jen Luby for contributing their ideas to this party!

Happy Valentine’s Week! Here at GirlfriendCelebrations, we love Valentine’s Day, and we encourage celebrating it with your girlfriends. Even if there’s no romance in your life right now, you still have plenty to appreciate and celebrate – you have friends! We know one woman who sends Valentine cards to all her friends instead of Christmas cards. It’s her way of showing appreciation from the heart. In that spirit, here’s a short roundup of ideas to get YOU thinking of ways to brighten your February with Valentine-themed girls nights. Watch for new posts this week with even more creative ideas for February festivities.

“I Enjoy Being a Girl” Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Party – Our girlfriend Jen Luby at Second City Soiree has done it again! This time she’s got some great entertaining tips centered around Chinese New Year, which falls on February 14 this year, and usually occurs somewhere around Valentine’s Day. Here’s how she came up with the theme:

“I Enjoy Being a Girl” is a song from Flower Drum Song, a Rogers & Hammerstein musical which relates the tale of Chinese immigrants in San Francisco during the 1950s.  The are various opinions on the musical, and it’s not among R&H’s better-known works.  It did enjoy a brief spike of renewed interest when Sarah Jessica Parker performed “I Enjoy Being a Girl” in a 2004 Gap commercial.

See the rest of her post HERE.

Chocolate Themed Get-Togethers Are So Obvious, But Yummy! You can easily throw together a chocolate-themed party for your girlfriends on Valentine’s Day. Offer a “hot chocolate bar” by brewing up some good drinking chocolate. You provide the cocoa, whipped cream, some liqueurs to try, and perhaps some chocolate shavings, and let your girlfriends create their own drinks. Chocolate fondue is another simple idea to try–simply spear some fruits, pound cake, or whatever your heart desires. Anything tastes better covered in chocolate!  Rent the movie Chocolat to treat your visual senses (Johnny Depp–mmmm). See more on this idea, plus a past roundup of Valentine’s Day party ideas for women, HERE.

Start a Quirky Tradition. Remember this post about Carmen and the Lucky Reds? Well, you’ll just have to click on over to read it in its entirety but here’s a hint: It involves undergarments. Starting a quirky, funny, or heartfelt tradition among your girlfriends can help you not only survive Valentine’s Day, but look forward to it!

Just do Something! Why not send a Valentine e-card to all your girlfriends? It’s free and it might just make someone’s day. We like My Punchbowl’s assortment of Valentine and friendship-themed e-cards, which you can customize with your own photos and sentiments.

]]> http://www.girlfriendcelebrations.com/celebration-ideas/ways-to-heart-valentines-day-with-your-girlfriends/feed/ 1 http://www.girlfriendcelebrations.com/contests-and-giveaways/how-to-beat-loneliness-this-winter-girlfriend-circles-membership-giveaway/ http://www.girlfriendcelebrations.com/contests-and-giveaways/how-to-beat-loneliness-this-winter-girlfriend-circles-membership-giveaway/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:42:05 +0000 Dawn http://www.girlfriendcelebrations.com/?p=777

Loneliness may be the most dangerous epidemic women face, according to this guest post by Shasta Nelson, founder of GirlFriendCircles.com, a web-based service that matches its members with potential girlfriends offline, in real life. Lucky for us, she has some concrete ideas on how to beat loneliness and make new friends in this new year. Shasta also puts her money where her mouth is: She’s giving away a six-month GirlFriendCircles membership to one lucky GirlfriendCelebrations reader! In addition, she is offering YOU discounts on membership and other GirlFriendCircles events. See below for all the details.

By Shasta Nelson
While many of us have stood in line for the flu shot, bought abundant amounts of antibacterial hand soap and increased our daily intake of immune boosting vitamins, research published last month suggests there’s something besides Swine Flu and the common cold that we need to protect ourselves from  – loneliness. And it’s apparently equally, if not more, contagious as run-of-the-mill germs.

The Impact of Loneliness

With the holidays over and social calendars cleared, January becomes one of the loneliest months of the year. A study published in December’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology shows that loneliness not only affects our personal health and well-being and the way we treat others, but it also increases the sense of loneliness in our friends, family and neighbors. It can spread from person to person, up to three degrees of separation.

Protect Yourself

Here are three ways to help build your relational immune system this New Year:
Get a Check-Up: Determine your current relational health by evaluating your circle of friends. What friends do you have and what friends are you still hoping to find? Do you have enough local friends? Do you have the women surrounding you that help you feel rooted and supported right where you are?
Is your circle broad enough to accommodate different areas of your life? What interests or types of friends would enhance your life? Are you someone who connects with everyone but needs to pull a few people closer to you in more meaningful ways? Or do you tend to only have a few in your life so that when one of them moves or life changes that you find yourself not knowing who else to call?

Identify Long-Term Health: Write out what it looks and feels like to have a close circle of friends in your life. This step is crucial, but often skipped. While we all know you can’t go to the gym once and all of a sudden reach your health goals, the same is true for our relationships. Hold that truth with a willingness to not give up after a few scheduled events or attempts to reach out. This is one of the most significant health goals of your life and it very well may take three to six months before you can create a sense of belonging and connectedness.

Schedule your Steps: Based upon the awareness from your check-up in step one, you should be able to identify action steps that will foster more meaningful friendships in your life. For example, if you already know plenty of people but need to transition a few of them into something more meaningful, there are two primary ways of deepening friendships: more consistency (most of us will need to connect with someone at least twice a month over three months before we feel close) or more topics of sharing, which means broadening the conversations beyond the area that we currently have in common whether it’s work, our kids or a specific project. What can you commit to trying? Or, if you need to meet new potential friends, be open to trying lots of things such as joining sites like GirlFriendCircles.com, participating in a local choir, inviting your neighbors over for drinks or attending more events where your current network can help introduce you to more people.

This January, drag yourself to the gym and try to eat better, but for all the New Year’s Resolutions you may set, few of them will impact your health, physically, emotionally and relationally, more than surrounding yourself with good friends.

Shasta Nelson is a relationship and transition life coach and CEO of GirlfriendCircles.com, an online community that matches women with offline friends.

Exclusive Discounts

GirlfriendCelebrations readers, use this special discount code: “GFCELEB” to save 20% on any of GirlFriendCircles.com upcoming events:

21 Days of Friendship Journey, starts this Sunday, Jan 10 (workbook and coaching calls— participants can be from anywhere) http://newyearjourney.eventbrite.com/

Portland Speed Friending, Tuesday, Jan 12 (http://portlandspeedfriending.eventbrite.com/)

Seattle Speed Friending, Wednesday, Jan 13 (http://seattlespeedfriending.eventbrite.com/)

Or, receive 20% off membership in GirlFriendCircles.com, the only online community to match new friends offline by connecting circles of women in local areas, to expand your circle of friends!

And Now For the Giveaway

GirlFriendCircles has generously offered to give one of our our readers a 6-month membership free! GirlFriend Circles matches members up with a small “Connecting Circle” of local women first, then after that initial meeting, you are free to use its resources to find other friends in your area as well. Please note the cities in which memberships are currently available: San Francisco and Bay Area, Portland, Seattle, Chicago and New York City. You must be able to use the membership in one of these cities to be eligible.

To enter:

1. Simply leave a comment on this post that says why you would like to try the GirlFriend Circles membership.

2. Tweet this contest for an extra entry.

3. Blog about it, linking back to this post, for an extra two entries.

Contest will remain open until 11:59 PM CST on Friday, January 22, 2010. Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries. Good luck, girlfriends!

Another girlfriend year is coming to a close, so we wanted to look back and remember some of our favorite post of 2009. We’ve had some great ones this year! In fact, narrowing the list down to 10 favorites was tough, but we selected 5 party ideas and 5 articles that we thought represented the best of GirlfriendCelebrations this year. Read on and see if you agree, and let us know in the comments. You can also VOTE for your favorite GirlfriendCelebrations party idea of 2009 in our twtpoll in the left-hand column. If you missed any of these great posts, you may want to consider subscribing to our e-newsletter. That way you’ll never miss a minute of the celebration!

Party Ideas

1. Patio Crawl Tina says: “I like this because it’s hip to host at any age. It can be held virtually anywhere from a large subdivision to a small apartment complex. If you wanted to include the opposite sex, it wouldn’t too hard to modify. What a great way to celebrate the fall season! And last but not least…I secretly really, really, really want to host one of these ~ sounds like so much fun.”

2. Welcome-to-Town Cookie Party Tina says: “I love that you can host this for girls of all ages. It’s a unique twist on the old favorite cookie exchange. It’s a fun way to get the “chore” of seeing all your close friends and extended family without traveling from house to house during the time-crunched holiday season.”
3. Karaoke Girls Night Dawn says: “Classic GirlfriendCelebrations: Fun, easy, cheap, and unique. This is a great Japan-themed girls night to warm up a winter night by bringing out your inner diva.”
4. Good Scents Fragrance Party Dawn says: “I like this party not only because it is different, but also because it was developed in response to a reader request. And, it’s a collaborative effort. Several smart readers contributed suggestions.”
5. Guide to Swap Parties for Frugal Girls Nights After the book swap, accessory swap and fashion swap, what else can you trade with your girlfriends? Well, there’s more! Here’s a roundup of ways to play swap-o-rama with your gal pals.

Friendship Articles

6. Seven Steps to Better Girls Nights Great New Year reading, this article has all you need to know about making girlfriend time a priority and how to make the most of it.

8. Girlfriends Meet Mizrahi: Another real-life adventure, except this time it was the Girlfriends-in-Chief having the adventure meeting fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi. This story started and ended with girlfriends!

9. The Mighty Queens of Freeville: Q&A With Amy Dickinson Dawn says: “We love recommending good, girlfriendly books, and this was one of my favorite interviews of the year. Amy had a lot of great insights on friendship and on women’s relationships.”

10.  Top Ten Ways to Help a Girlfriend Get Well: A thoughtful post that offers concrete suggestions for brightening the day of a girlfriend who’s under the weather. We like to think that offering easy, inexpensive, yet effective ideas is one of the things we do best at GirlfriendCelebrations.

Special Thanks to Our Guests

While we (hopefully) have your attention, we’d also like to give a BIG thank you to all our fabulous guest posters and contributors this year. They made our site so much richer and we truly appreciate their time and talents: Christine Arylo, Melissa Mellott, Casey Wohl, Julie Bestry, Kami Gray, Carly Huegelmann, Brooke Jones, Irene Levine, Izzy Rose. Thank you! (If we have forgotten anyone, please let us know.)

Girlfriends, thanks for spending time with us this year! We wish you stronger friendships in 2010 and more fun celebrating them!  xoxo Dawn and Tina

For the healthy, the holiday season can be hectic and harried. For the “Breast Cancer Warrior,” it’s all that and more. As a Breast Cancer Warrior  since November 2005, our girlfriend Brooke Jones knows that holiday gift giving can be challenging. After learning that she had become the 5th of 6 women in her family to hear the words: “You have breast cancer” she created a unique website for women, www.BreastCancerWarrior.net, featuring crucial information, expert articles, links to the Internet’s most-respected breast cancer web sites, and…humor. She hopes to reach every girlfriend with knowledge, education and laughter. So listen on as she guides us through gifts worthy of giving to the girlfriends we love.

By Brooke Jones

If there’s a BC Warrior on your holiday list, you might be asking yourself this question: “What do you give to the person whose one wish is to live?” Though the question is deep, the answer is simple: You give YOU. (and no, I’m not talking organ donation, I’m talking ENERGY donation).

Breast Cancer Warriors frequently describe the exhaustion caused by treatment as ‘feeling like somebody yanked out my batteries”. Every shred of energy is suddenly gone. Who knew it takes energy to just close your eyes? Trust me — it does, and in the midst of chemo and radiation therapy that was almost more energy than I could muster. So, speaking from extensive personal experience, I say to you that one of the greatest gifts you can give to a Breast Cancer Warrior is hands-on assistance with the innumerable tasks of day-to-day living.

And so, I recommend the following free and fabulous holiday gift idea: a Gift Card, from The Store Of You. Made redeemable for any of the following, it will be a priceless gift for the Breast Cancer Warrior in your life:

Babysitting

If the BC Warrior in your life is the mother of youngsters, offer to watch the kids (in your home) on specific days, for specified hours.

Even better:

A Child-Free Weekend

Give her some time to heal, take the kids to spend a weekend with you in your home. That would give a BC Warrior an exquisite (and desperately needed) vacation. (Several friends can sign up for this or other gift cards and by doing so can share the actual giving of the gift, thus making the gift last much longer).

House Cleaning

Dust, mop, do laundry, change the sheets on the beds, and vacuum (vacuum cleaners are often just too heavy for BC Warriors to deal with). Do what you can to help your BC Warrior’s home be comfy, cozy and clean once a week or once every other week for a specified period of time.

Home-Cooked Meals

This gift works best when you cook the meals in your home and then bring the food to your BC Warrior’s home.

Important food note: Before you start cooking, check with your BC Warrior to learn what foods she should not be eating right now. For many BC Warriors, anything containing soy is a ‘no no’, for example. There are also specific food ‘no no’s’ for BC Warriors who are undergoing chemotherapy, so be sure to ask before you start cooking.

For specific information on this subject, go to: www.BreastCancerWarrior.net, click on the FOOD WISE category, and read the article entitled: “Foods To Avoid During Chemo”.

Secretarial Service

Breast Cancer Warriors tend to have stacks of paperwork that need tending to, but their chemo-fogged brains just aren’t up to the task. As a result, the bills; the insurance paperwork; the ‘unbalanced’ check book; the medical reports; the thank-you cards; the disability applications, etc, etc, etc, ad (truly) nauseum, are often stuffed into a drawer where, it is hoped, they will somehow sort themselves out. If you have a sneaky suspicion that this description fits the BC Warrior in your life, then your services as a part-time Secretary will be a godsend.

As are gift cards that are redeemable for:

Dog Walking

Daily (if you can) or trips to the dog park on the weekends, make a welcome reprieve from dog duty.

Pet Sitting

Take the four-legged to your home for a few days or take the furry family members to the groomer for a professional cleaning. BC Warriors frequently have compromised immune systems, so having clean pets becomes more a matter of protecting the health of your BC Warrior than about her having to live with the oh-so-common winter aroma of ‘wet dog’.

Grocery Shopping

Make a list of the foods she needs (don’t buy things that she shouldn’t eat), and do the weekly food shopping for her.

Chauffeuring

Drive your girlfriend to and from doctor’s appointments, or drive her children to and from their regular activities. (and, by the way, if your BC Warrior is going through chemotherapy, offer to stay with her during a session or two. Having you there with her will make the treatment session feel less like a prolonged medical procedure and more like a prolonged visit with a cherished friend.)

Girlfriend Therapy

A Gift Card can even include a FRIEND’S THERAPY SESSION (in person or by phone), during which your BC Warrior is allowed to vent, scream, cry, and whine without interruption or judgment for thirty minutes. This one can be a real life-saver.

Many BC Warriors bottle up their fear, pain and depression because they think that’s what’s expected of them. Each time a BC Warrior hears the words: “You are so brave”, she feels the need to live up to that label. She’ll dig down deep, put on a ‘brave’ face and tell you that she’s ‘fine’, even though, just under the surface, she’s coming unglued.

As research clearly shows, ‘stuffed’ emotions amplify within us, creating an overabundance of adrenaline and stomach acids that can actually feed the cancer we are trying so hard to fight. Knowing that a BC Warrior has a safe place to dump her fears – where nothing she says will go any farther and will never be thrown back in her face — will help more than you can imagine.

So…all that remains is to design your gift card, print it out, and put it in a box. Wrap the box in fun paper, and place it under your BC Warrior’s Christmas tree. (which reminds me – helping a BC Warrior decorate her tree, and then, after Christmas, ‘un-decorate’ it, pack up the ornaments, and get rid of the tree is another gift that will be enormously appreciated).

And…if you knit, by all means do make the Gift Card from The Store of You redeemable for a few warm, cozy, adorable KNIT HATS. BC Warriors who have lost their hair to Chemotherapy know how quickly body heat sneaks out of the body through a hairless head….so, for Breast Cancer Warriors, hats aren’t a ‘vanity accessory’ worn to hide baldness, they are an absolute necessity, especially during the winter. (Many BC Warriors even sleep in their knit hats!) Make one to match her PJ’s, and one to match her winter coat. She’ll love them!

…and, of course, every BC Warrior could use a warm and cozy BC Warrior Zip-Up Hoodie. They’re perfect for chemo day and available online at the BC Warrior Gift Shop at BreastCancerWarrior.net

So, this holiday season, what should you give the BC Warrior in your life? Give the gift of YOU — your love, your laughter, your prayers and your positive energy. (And please do tell your BC Warrior about BreastCancerWarrior.net. The information and the laughter she will find there will be a gift unto itself)

Brooke Jones is a former stand-up comedian, Los Angeles radio personality and screenwriter. Now, in addition to fighting cancer, Brooke is the creator and editor-in-chief of BreastCancerWarrior.net — the internet’s unique breast cancer web Site, featuring crucial information, expert articles, links to the Internet’s most-respected breast cancer web sites, and …humor.