If you liked our Boobies Couture 2006 and 2007 Limited Edition Tshirt designs -- then you've been turned on to the artwork of NYC based artist Andrew Hurst (who also happens to be my brother!)

If you live in or around Brooklyn -- you should check out the Bushwick Open Studios & Arts Festival this summer.  Coming up on June 6-8, it will include both an art festival and artists who have decided to open their studios to the public.  Check out Andy's artist profile on the BOS '08 site.

Andy might not be willing to give you a peak of the 2008 Boobies Couture Limited Edition Tshirt design, but then again you never know! 

I'm ever impressed by this event and the group that hosts it! I think everyone in the Elmira area must own a Feel Your Boobies tshirt at this point!  This year marks for the 4th year for the Be Pink event in Elmira, NY hosted by the Twin Tiers Young Professionals.  It's a ton of fun, and this year they are donating a portion of the proceeds to Feel Your Boobies!!! WOW.  Unfortunately this is the first year I won't be able to attend this event because I have a wedding to go to -- but the event is a blast so if you're in the area you should definitely go. 

May 16th: 7-12midnight

Green Derby

Official Be Pink Website 

Boobies Basics: Issue 5
Is "boobies" a four-letter word? 

By: Leigh Hurst 

I’m constantly amused by peoples’ reactions to the word “boobies.”  Whether it’s a belly laugh from a 70 year old woman, an enthusiastic testimonial from a breast cancer survivor, or a furrowed brow from those who blush at a mere glimpse of the word, I’m reminded that we all have different perspectives on things. 

In today’s day and age, with all that we’re exposed to through the media, I personally don’t think the word “boobies” is going to cause the world to come crashing down in ruin. But then again, I’m a lover of the word “boobies.” It makes me giggle; it always has – even before I was an avid advocate for healthy “boobies”.  There are plenty of unproductive slang terms out there for female parts I didn’t even know I had.  Many of these terms are vulgar or offensive, and are even defined that way in the dictionary.  However, I don’t put the word “boobies” in this category.  In fact, when researching the uses of this provocative word, I learned that “boobie…is a term of endearment derived from the Yiddish term bubele, meaning baby”. Hmm, a term of endearment? Now that’s interesting.

So, you may be wondering why I’m discussing the word “boobies” in such detail.  What’s the big deal anyway?  Well that’s just it…what is the big deal? I’ve learned that this word actually is a big deal to some.  Since beginning Feel Your Boobies in 2004 I’ve probably received a handful of emails from people who express concern over the use of this term.  Some are embarrassed by the term, others feel it’s demeaning to women or that it’s making light of a very serious disease in an inappropriate manner.  I appreciate hearing these points of view. They remind me that my love of the word “boobies” is subjective and that my approach to breast cancer awareness may not be met by approval from all.   And that’s ok.  If it was, then the approach wouldn’t be unconventional I suppose – and, likely, would be less effective considering the women we target.

And so I continue to ponder this mild debate over the word “boobies.”  What exactly is it that causes this controversy? Why do some people find this word to be playful and humorous while others feel it’s offensive and demeaning?  I suppose the answer to that will always boil down to an individual point of view.  But when it boils down to awareness vs. ignorance, talking vs. silence, tuning in vs. tuning out, and early detection vs. death, the only four-letter word that really matters is “life”…and that’s something we can all agree on.
 

If you're at all like me -- you associate periods of time in your life with people you remember watching on the news.  As I may have written about before, I was living in New York City during 9/11 and was actually only a block away from the Towers when the planes hit.  I normally would never have been in that area of town because I worked out of my apartment, but that Tuesday morning I had an 8:30a doctor's appointment which took me to lower Manhattan.  My mom came to the city to join me at the appointment -- it was only a foot doctor's appointment to get a cortizone shot, but I was scared and wanted my mom there to make me feel better (yes, even in your 30's you need that sometimes!)

After the shot in my foot (OMG did that hurt!), we were checking out and overheard the nurses talking about how a plane had hit one of the Towers.  I just figured it was a personal plane that mildly brushed the side of the building and shrugged it off.  When we left the building we walked out into a world that would be forever changed.  We witnessed the 2nd plane hitting the building and watched the flames shoot out and the people running away from the building in fear.  We saw the initial fire trucks come racing over the Brooklyn bridge and the plain clothes cops urging people to walk north away from the buildings.  We had no idea what was happening.

I only lived less than a mile north in the Village so we began walking back to my apartment. Along the way it was like watching the ripple effect that a stone has when hitting the water -- we were walking as fast as the news was traveling.  People began coming out of office buildings to see what was going on.  Cars were stopped in the middle of the street with the radios blaring.  We heard on one radio that the Pentagon had just been hit as well and that's when the real fear set in.

We arrived back at my apartment just in time to see the buildings collapse on CNN. From that moment on, I was obsessed with CNN -- I couldn't stop watching it, even when I wanted to make the news stop coming.  During that time I felt like Daryn Kagan, Bill Hemmer, Aaron Brown, and Paula Zahn were my friends.  They communicated the story that was just outside my window to the rest of the world and I felt they did it with compassion, emotion, and true empathy.

Last fall I was contacted by Daryn Kagan to be featured on her new website DarynKagan.com that focuses on "What's Possible."  She wanted to tell the Feel Your Boobies story to others in hopes that others facing difficult times might be inspired to know that good things do come from not so good times.  I felt honored to speak with Daryn and told her that I watched her religiously during her time on CNN. 

I've since learned that Daryn started her website because her contract on CNN (after 12 years) was not going to be renewed.  This led her to do some soul searching about what her real interests were and the website is a result of following her gut and trying something new.

She has since captured 50 of the stories she's collected into a book called "What's Possible?" and it was released on April 8, 2008.  Feel Your Boobies is one chapter in that book.  After speaking with Daryn, seeing her book and keeping up with her website...I think she's a perfect example of "What's Possible?" -- she helped get so many people through such hard times during 9/11 and has moved on to continue to share stories of inspiration.  What better way to spend your time?

Below are a few links - check them out and pick up the book if you have a chance.

DarynKagan.com 

What's Possible -- buy the book! 

FYB Video Feature on Daryn's site 

Daryn Kagan on Fox 

Come check out the fancy furniture (special savings on Pink items!) and help raise money for FYB. Classic Interiors (located on Derry Street in Harrisburg) is hosting a one-day event in support of us and hopes to raise 3K for the Foundation. 

The event will take place from 10-5p on Saturday May 3 and the Boobies Bus will make an appearance from 10-2p.  The first 100 people get a fun goody bag too!

Classic Interiors Event Info

Event Listing on Furniture World 

 FYB paging Jordan Carlson !!!

 http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/breast-cancer-activists

Ok, how fun does this sound -- dress up like Elvis, run from bar to bar in downtown Philly, and support a good cause.  Well the guys that are organizing this have a great event in the making and have selected Feel Your Boobies as the recipient of all proceeds from this year's event -- right on!

We'll be on hand at registration with some cheap tshirts ($5 can't beat that!!) to thank them for their support.  Elvis would be proud to support Boobies I'm sure. 

 Read more about the event on the Official Website - www.runningoftheelvis.com

Rebecca Althoff, Tastefully Simple consultant, is at it again -- last fall she did a TS fundraiser for FYB and donated $1000!!  Well, she's doing the same thing in April -- so use the link below and stock up on gifts and other yummy stuff.  100% of proceeds will be donated to FYB.

Click here to be sure your shopping counts toward the FYB Fundraiser. 

Please make sure Rebecca Althoff is the consultant shown at the top of your window when shopping.  If she's not, be sure to use her ID#0032123 with your order. 

Boobies Ball raises $2500! 

The 3rd Annual Boobies Ball was held on March 27th at Penn State Harrisburg -- the Lion Ambassadors, led by President Holly Ann Artz (seated left) and Laurie Dobroski (advisor) plan this dance each year in support of the Feel Your Boobies Foundation.  This year they more than doubled their donation and presented us with a check for $2500 last week.  

Nice work guys -- next stop -- University Park :-) 

On April 9th, I went down to Bryn Mawr College to meet the Bryn Mawr/Haverford Girls Horned Toads Rugby team. The girls are using our Custom Event Tee's to do some fundraising to support FYB and plan to help us create a model that we can use with other schools as well!  Thanks girls -- we're really looking forward to working with you :-)