As we've been working on launching the research institute, many of you have written volunteering your services. Beth over at Power Up for PCOS has a special request, she'd like help from someone with accounting/bookkeeping experience to finalize the tallies from the fundraiser.
The general accounting, etc., at inCYST will be paid for, and it's taken care of. Beth just wants to be sure she gets all the fundraiser details correct so she's all square with the IRS.
If you're interested please write her at info@powerupforpcos.com
For those of you who are not on our Facebook fan page, here is an update about our progress! And a recent photo of me if you've ever wondered what I look like.
With all the positive energy and support surrounding this effort, we've got some great and exciting things to blog about coming up!
All these years I've been studying hormones, it's always seemed to me that one of the main reasons their disorders are so hard to figure out and help…is that the research that needs to be done to find the answers is not highly likely to be funded by pharmaceutical or food corporations. Sure there are are other grants, but a bottleneck is created when everyone wanting to do research about foods, herbs, sleep, acupuncture, etc…, is forced into competing heavily for the other money that is available. The politics and competition for that money become pretty incredible.
That leaves people with hormone disorders to their own devices and what they find on the Internet, which is often presented by one person based on their personal experience, or someone trying to sell supplements and capitalize on another person's fears. Not always smart, not always safe, not always successful.
I kept thinking there had to be a better way.
Then, a few months ago, twice in 36 hours, I was asked where money could be devoted to MY research institute. And a reporter who was following my blog asked me if I had a picture of my institute (I didn't think my dining room table piled with papers and a sleeping kitty would provide much credibility…so I declined at the time.)
However…I did realize that it was time to stop thinking someone else was going to do this and that life was surrounding me with people and circumstances that made it possible for ME to get it going.
I was finally pushed into action when a woman with PCOS, (who happens to be organizing one of our fundraisers) could not get anyone to accept money for PCOS research, and who was actually told the disorder"was not sexy enough to merit that kind of fundraising". Really? One in ten women? Leading cause of infertility? Most common endocrine disorder in women? You have GOT to be kidding!?!?!
So I've been doing the legwork to get the inCYST Institute for Hormone Health up and running. We're opening up headquarters, to be housed in the new Blank Spaces coworking community in Santa Monica, CA next month. (Lucy, #1 on my list after signing the lease and writing the check…is getting you that picture.)
And while I'm sticking my neck out and willing to be the face, mouth, and typing fingers behind this organization, it's really designed to be user driven. I really want this to be as volunteer-oriented as we can be. Thus far, we've got two fundraisers planned:
1. (Late summer, date TBD, Los Angeles) Bootcamp with celebrity fitness trainer Craig Ramsay.
2. (September 17, rain date 18, Nashua, NH) 5k walk. The organizers of this fundraiser are also working to figure out a way for walkers to participate if they are not geographically near this location.
All it took was for me to say I would do this for people to begin volunteering their time. It's simultaneously humbling and inspiring! There's a lot to do in order to live up to these expectations, and I'm doing all that I can. I'm sending you this announcement so you know we're out there and to share with you a few ways you can help us out.
1. Tell your friends! The more people we have on our fan page, the easier it is for us to publicize events. Here is also where we'll be providing updates on our official activities in the research arena.
2. Volunteer! If you'd like to help out with either of these events, or have an idea for a fundraiser of your own, please let me know what you would like to offer in terms of time and talent.
3. Of course, donate. I just spent a day at a nonprofit summit learning about the nuts and bolts of efficient nonprofit management. I intend to make our foundation very lean and mean so that the bulk of the money earned goes directly to our cause. It's too important to not prioritize that. I've got a Paypal address where you can send money, germandesertgirl@yahoo.com, or until the foundation's California mailing address is set up, you can send checks to inCYST Institute for Hormone Health, 4201 East Camelback, Unit 16, Phoenix, AZ 85018.
BTW, I am teased by my family for being more than a little driven and nerdy. Once my mom wanted to spank me for something I had done and she found me sitting cross-legged on the floor reading a book. I obliged her by standing up, letting her punish me, and immediately sitting down. Never stopped reading the entire time. When she tells this story she always pauses and says,"That is when I knew you were not the average child." That drive and passion I commit to everyone who supports the Institute. Thank heavens we're about healthy living as it will give me an excuse to put the books down, get out, move around, and meet some of you amazing people from time to time.
I may be overly nerdy and driven, but I work hard to also be human and compassionate. Please know that any thoughts you have to share are more than welcome.
If you ever wish to contact me my email is marika@google.com, and my phone number is 623.486.0737.
I want to talk about something that isn't easy to talk about--anger.
My assistant with this blog post is one of my very best friends…Bobby, a cat I have befriended while volunteering at the Arizona Animal Welfare League.
Bobby is one of the funniest, sweetest, most playful, interactive cats I've ever known. He loves to chase anything you throw across the slippery tile floor. He's taught himself to drink out of the cattery water cooler. If anyone opens the drawer where the catnip is, whatever Bobby is doing, he comes running full speed, jumps in the drawer, and starts looking for a"hit". Tina, our vet tech, says that her favorite part of the day is when she comes in the morning, as soon as he hears the door open, he comes running with this look like you're the most important person in the world, and he's sooooooooooooooooo happy to see you.
Bobby hasn't always been that way. He was rescued from the euthanasia list at our county animal care and control. His owner moved, decided he didn't want Bobby anymore, and left him, like many animal owners do, to the whims of people who have way too many decisions to make about which animals to save and which ones they can't. Fortunately, our team at AAWL saved Bobby from a potentially horrible fate and brought him to be with us.
For months, he was grumpy, sullen, he'd swat at anyone who tried to come near. It was clear, Bobby was miserable and going through a grief process without many outlets to express his confusion, loss, anger, and loneliness.
I asked for permission to spend one on one time with him whenever I could. The first few weeks, he was so traumatized when I simply picked him up to take him into our private room, I had to leave him alone for 20 minutes to chill out before I could even be in the room with him. When I finally went in, I'd let him sit in his corner while I focused on entering medical records. Suddenly, one day, I looked, and he was by my feet, belly in the air, just looking at me. But when I went to touch him, I got a firm swat.
Every time I went in after that, I saw more belly, and got fewer swats. We've got such a bond now that Lisa, the cattery manager, lets my day at the shelter be the one of Bobby's free roaming lobby days.
Bobby has taught me so much about the women I work with who read this blog, attend my classes, and ask for individual help.
Anger, even when it's intense, and even when it hurts to be on the receiving end of it, almost always is about fear or hurt, or loss. It's what animals and people let out when they feel scared, vulnerable, and/or uncertain, and they feel the need to protect themselves.
You have a right to feel angry if you've been given weight loss advice that didn't work. You have a right to feel betrayed if someone took your money and gave you promises in a bottle of supplements and it did nothing for you. You have a right to feel intensely sad if you've lost a pregnancy. You have a right to question who we are on this blog, and to wonder what it is that we want from you. You have a right to be skeptical about this information.
And, most importantly, no matter what you're feeling right now, be it anger, frustration, fear, loneliness, no matter how intense, or how sideways it might come out in this moment, you have a right to feel it without anyone telling you it's wrong.
I like to see repeat visits in my webstats. They're kind of like Bobby's belly. It tells me we're gaining your trust. And it gives me hope that some day, you'll decide you have a right to trust some of the ideas we share.
And over time, as trust develops, I also like to hope that even some of the smallest things we talk about are things you decide to try.
It's little steps that add up to big changes.
I'm glad Stacy Korfist is here with us, because she's a therapist who is specially trained to help people understand their feelings and behaviors. I know she'll have some great advice and insights for all of us when it comes to anger, frustration…you name it.
I'm glad you're here. However it is that you're feeling today. Whatever it is that you think of our material.
What a great thing to learn before I even had a sip of coffee! Anthony Sepe, RD, of the blog, From a Dietitian's Perspective, nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award. Thank you, friend, and colleague, for thinking of me for this!
In return for accepting this award, I've been asked to do a few things:
• Thank the person who has given you the award — done! • Place the Kreative Blogger Logo on this blog — done! • Link to the person who has nominated you for the award — done! • Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting
1. I speak German and Spanish in addition to English 2. I have participated in medical missions to Russia and Mexico. 3. I volunteered 5 summers at diabetes camp. 4. I love to read biographies of past presidents. 5. I enjoy volunteering in the animal rescue world. 6. I have climbed several 14,000 ft mountain peaks. 7. I am learning to play golf.
• Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers and post links to their blogs
1. Sasha Ottey, a woman with PCOS who started the PCOS Challenge and who hosts a weekly radio program on the topic. 2. Annette Colby, Ph.D., RD, who does a lot of inspirational writing on her blog and in her books. 3. Kate Benjamin, whose Modern Cat blog is beautful to look at and a daily fix for many cat owner. 4. Dawn Davenport, whose blog is devoted to those affected by infertility and who are considering adoption. 5. Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D, a psychologist who specializes in working with people living with endocrine disorders 6. Ellen Reiss Goldfarb, RD, a inCYST network member who has worked selflessly to help inCYST gain recognition in Los Angeles…and who is a great"Food of the Week" sleuth for this blog! 7. Meri Raffeto, RD, owner of Real Living Nutrition, another great network of registered dietitians providing online nutrition counseling
• Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know they have been nominated — I just did that…:)
Have a great weekend and stay cool everyone! I appreciate your blogging…and your visiting this blog, too!
