You guys have all been so patient with me in the past and I’m hoping that you all can be a little more patient with me. I consider you all friends and I will try to explain the current situation as best as I can.

When I had my gastric bypass surgery in October, the doctors found cysts on both of my ovaries. I was supposed to go see my gynecologist six weeks later but put it off because of being busy with work. I went this morning and got some very disheartening news. There are cysts on both ovaries, however, there are also tumors on both ovaries. This will require surgery and I will be going under the knife next Wednesday (February 7th). I will know more next week when they can get a better look. The doctor told me today that he would do his best to preserve my fertility since I am of childbaring age and have no kids. He could not guarantee this and I’m really not sure what will happen if he can’t (if this procedure will turn into a hysterectomy). I’m sure I’ll also be finding out in the next few weeks if the tumors are cancerous. Cancer runs in my family, so when he said the word ‘tumors’, I just kind of broke down.

So, what this means to you all is that I will more than likely be going on hiatus for an undetermined amount of time. I’ll try my best to get awards up before the surgery, but there is so much I have to do to prepare for this (like get my apartment cleaned). If anyone would like to help out, that would be great. Also, I know Donna could use the help over at with silence & tears, as I don’t know if/when I can return back to judging (mental focus thing) for her. They are looking at me being off from work for about 4-6 weeks depending on how the surgery goes.

Hope all is well with everyone!

-Jen

Round 9 is now closed with 19 submissions. I won’t have awards up anytime soon for a good reason. I am getting ready to finish up working about 13 days straight at work and will only have one day off this week and that’s for a doctor’s appointment. I will try to have awards up by February 1st.

Also, don’t forget about the video challenge round that’s hosted over on myspace.com!

http://www.myspace.com/raawards

Sorry for the delay.

Round 9 needs nine more submissions before I can close it out!

Also, please make sure you read the rules. I’ve gotten a few submissions for some tv fandoms I can’t accept right now because I’ve not seen the shows. Rest assured, I’m working on them!

Round 9 is now open. Thanks everyone for being patient while I went on a brief hiatus. As you can see, the only challenges I will be accepting are layout challenges. I got a new one from Donna so we are up to three new layouts. I still need some more!

Speaking of Donna, she is looking for a couple of judges over at with silence & tears. So, if you are interested, go sign up!

I’ve also updated my personal site and updated some Vid Recs over there. However, I’m not finished recommending yet!

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

-Jen