Mat asks me to get involved and help.  I say yes.  Together, we text back and forth and arrange to do a location scout.  Once in Hollywood, we find the perfect pre-freeze place to meet and then Mat starts snapping pictures.  I hear snippets of "the song" and get excited.

Next thing, I know I am in WDC's radio studio and on the air sharing the #LHandSign Lupus Awareness Flash Mob Freeze with his radio listeners.  It's all a blur because I was off to Washington, DC to go to TEDMED!

Here's the YouTube of me on the WDC radio show...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHqESoK5L1Q

Then on Sunday, April 28th shortly after 11AM the Lupus community of Southern California gathered for the Lupus Cloud Meet Up and at NOON for three powerful minutes in front of The Chinese Theater in Hollywood, there was silence as the #LHandSign Lupus Awareness Flash Mob Freeze happened and then Mat Simpkins, of RunningforLupus.com and creator of the #LHandSign blew the whistle and we hugged and then made our way to California Pizza Kitchen for the "after party" benefitting The Purple Rose Foundation.

Thanks to everyone who came out in LA and to you who I know by now is thinking I want to "Put my L up!" so go ahead and take a picture posing with the #LHandSign and share it online.  Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, show your support for Lupus Awareness.

Watch the video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j42m7NsCrJU and "put your L's up!"

Here is the guest post I wrote for the Social Media Girlfriends Blog.

http://socialmediagirlfriends.com/blog/amanda-lupus-lady-on-blog-talk-radio

Here is the post about my appearance as a guest of GIRLFRIENDS TALK RADIO with Dabney Porte.

http://socialmediagirlfriends.com/blog/girlfriends-talk-radio-dabney-gets-up-close-and-personal-with-amanda-greene-aka-la-lupus-lady

Thank you Dabney and the entire Social Media Girlfriends community for allowing me to open up and share my story with you.  Please follow @SMGirlfriends on Twitter.

This is the "doodle" for the "Managing Chronic Diseases Better"--one of The 20 Great Challenges facing Health and Medicine addressed at TEDMED 2013.  I was invited to be a Social Media Narrator and Delegate to TEDMED!

Wearing Karen Kane at The Kennedy Center for TEDMED 2013!

As seen at TEDMED 2013: Richard Simmons and me, connecting the Great Challenges! 

Here is a screen grab of me on the TEDMEDLive Stream!  I proudly shared how Richard @TheWeightSaint Simmons is helping change my life.

This is what the screen and TEDMED stage looked like...

Exercising w/ Richard Simmons and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin on stage at The Kennedy Center during TEDMED.  (I'm behind Dr. Benjamin on the left.)

At the Air and Space Museum I met, hugged and posed with the Surgeon General!

Follow @SGRegina on Twitter.  

Another Regina...@ReginaHolliday helped make me TEDMED better because TEDMED 2013 was the first chance to I had to wear my "The Walking Gallery" to a health and medical conference.

The Hive at TEDMED was buzzing through TEDMED 2013!

My TEDMED "Six Word Story" in The Hive!

The "Smart Phone Physical" started with a look inside my ear.  Everything a doctor would need to give you a physical and track your body can be done w/ a Smart Phone!

A "virtual" look at the Ultrasound of the artery in my neck.  "Smart Phone Physical" is a great advance for doctors and medicine.  They also had a blood pressure cuff that attached to an iPhone.

After TEDMED in Washington, DC... I got back to attacking the Great Challenge of "Working Out with @TheWeightSaint" Richard Simmons' Twitter handle.

Then it was time to "Put my L Up!"

The #LHandSign Lupus Awareness Flash Mob Freeze in Hollywood!

Having fun w/ Mat Simpkins @RunningforLupus flashing the #LHandSign!

The debut of the "new" LA Lupus Lady cape after the "L Hand Sign Lupus Awareness Flash Mob Freeze"

Information from Alliance for Lupus Research at the "L Hand Sign Lupus Awareness Flash Mob Freeze."

Watch Out May 2013 - Lupus Awareness Month!!!  LA Lupus Lady is out to make you memorable!

LUPUS STYLE!

Lupus is…

Lousy

Unrelenting

Painful

Ugly

and

Sucks.

Lupus made me realize… I am

Strong

Tough

Youthful

Living

and

Empowered.

Next week, TEDMED and "Great Challenges Day"

Next month, May is "Lupus Awareness Month" celebrating World Lupus Day in NYC and Walking at MetLife at the Alliance for Lupus Research Walk with Us to Cure Lupus event!

In June I'll be sharing at the #140You (formerly the #140conf aka "State of Now") a conference in New York City focusing on "Health, Wellness, Fitness and Food" more Big Apple fun!

Sometimes brevity is a good thing.  

Day 12... this Health Activist ( and lupus patient) is too busy being a Health Activist to post about being a Health Activist.  What a tremendous and awesome challenge to be dealing with.

Tonight after a busy day of finalizing my TEDMED plans, I put "California Years" (a Jill Sobule CD.) on full blast and somehow made it to Slimmons Studio where I worked out with Richard Simmons in Beverly Hills.  Happily exhausted, I grabbed a greek yogurt for dinner and waited patiently (aka "watched the rerun of a Grey's Anatomy episode") for the repeat of "Scandal" to start.  

I know why I am going to TEDMED and "Great Challenges Day" but it will be fun to explore my favorite scandalous locations while I'm enjoying our Capitol City.  I can't wait to toast to TEDMED and "Great Challenges" once I'm in the beltway.  But tonight, instead of writing this post, I was caught up on my Twitter timeline, while creating the vision for the "Men of Scandal" calendar... that's when I realized I would want and covet more than one calendar.  The Men of Scandal calendar would be where I kept my workout and fitness schedule.  The Scandal Datebook with tips by @scandalmakeup would become my new desk calendar (apologies to Moleskine!) and the Lady Fixers "Girl Gladiators" calendar would be where I note and schedule all of my social media chat and health care advocacy activities.  I know Shonda Rhimes may be too busy writing and producing my obsession to design the calendars I desire... but ABC Marketing should get on this.

(Late night Day 11 post for HAWMC!)

These pictures represent a glorious time of my life, I was visiting New York City, one of my favorite places in the world, when I read about an Annie Leibovitz book signing.  I changed my plans to attend, little did I know that I would be "shot" by one the most prolific photographers of our time.    Without question, two of my favorite pictures taken of me.

Today's writing prompt for the WEGO Health "Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge" was to share as a parent what do I hope I'm doing right.  Well, I am not a parent.  Thanks to lupus, I am unable to conceive my own children.  Again, thanks to lupus when my husband and I went to explore adoption, we learned that birth moms usually want the adoptive moms to be healthy and wealthy, the ones we met didn't want to give their babies to someone who lives with a chronic illness.  Thankfully, the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter isn't so stringent in screening prospective "rescue" families.  I am a "cat mom" and I hope that I'm doing it right.  Aside from the obvious needs of fresh food and water, I hope that Rex knows how much I love him.

When I am suffering and in pain, Rex will cuddle beside me.  When I get up and dance to Lady Gaga's powerful music, Rex will watch me dance.  During this month of facing challenges head on, Rex offers his support with his soft purrs.  I am lucky to have Rex in my life.  He offers his unique form of "cat therapy" by looking up at you with his big eyes and vocalizations.  When I need some TLC, my Tender Loving Cat is there.  Rex is an amazing "Cat-a-tonic" and he soothes me and ease the pain and tension of being someone who lives with lupus.

I know that circumstances prevent some people from having pets, but if you can.  I would suggest that you adopt/rescue a pet from your local animal shelter.  Rex is one of the best assets I have in fighting off the helpless, hopeless feeling that can envelope me as a 45 year old woman who will never have anyone call out "Mommy" - I swear sometimes the sound of Rex's meow sounds like he is calling out out "Mom" I know how that must seem... so may be I am a "cat lady" after all.

Time for a treat.

As a young girl, my mom took me to see (make that experience) "A Chorus Line" at The Shubert Theater.  I had taken ballet and tap classes, it was obvious that though I loved the music and the mirror that I was not the shining star but I loved it.  The line that stuck with me from that show "All I ever wanted was the chance to dance."  Thanks to Richy and "Dance Down" I lived my dream.  I never thought I would... recently I celebrated the 30th anniversary of my lupus diagnosis.  I will never be a professional dancer but last night I was able to escape the realities of my lupus life and experience "Movement and Magic" 

I wore purple from head to toe, proud to reflect my "Lupus Style" amongst a sea of black clad dancers.

The fact that "Dance Down" was held the night before I had to take a Chest CT helped me.  Richy, Lady Gaga and The Haus usually bring me joy.  But last night, was an up close and personal experience unlike any "Ball" could ever be.  Just for a moment, actually closer to 4 hours, Richy shared a glimpse into his creative life and journey.  He opened up about the real life of a dancer and I was able to forget that my new doctor wants more tests.  Lupus, even after 30 years, is always changing within me.  Just when I think that I know how to live with lupus, there is a new twist thrown my way.  While I won't know for a few days what the results of the Chest CT I took this afternoon are.  I do know that dancing to the choreography of Richard Jackson with The Haus and "DANCE DOWN" LA dancers took me to another place, literally "moving" me.

Richy taught us choreography but he reminded me to never give up and stay true to my passion.

"Paws Up!" with Richy!

After class with Victor @kidperu Rojas.

A trio of dancers, is that me?

proudly posing with the #LHandSign w/ @IamKevinFrey

Purple is the color of royalty... and lupus awareness.  My regal pose needs some work.

Showing strength together with @AsielHardison

"Lupus Awareness is Fun!" and while I may never experience the GAGA CHALLENGE I am happy to participate in WEGO Health's 2013 Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge especially since HAWMC is forcing/encouraging me to share the happiness, stress, joy, frustration and anxiety of April 2013 with you here. 

I love to dance.  I am not particularly good, but I enjoy the movement and magic that I feel when I dance.  In a few short hours... I will be dancing.  Not just dancing but experiencing Movement and Magic at "Dance Down" a workshop led by Richard @RichySquirrel Jackson!  He is one of the most prolific choreographers in the world and today I will be getting inspired and learning from him and other members of the Haus of Gaga!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=481161711948958&set=pb.244522572279541.-2207520000.1365373055&type=3&theater

While I am not following the WEGO Health "Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge" prompts, I am living up to the task of being a Health Activist who challenges the boundaries I have imposed on myself.  There are still times when the voice in my head thinks I am "too old" "too fat" or "too Lupie" to try -- that's when my flair kicks in and says "Get Up and Keep on Moving"

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwMLYd6crQU

Tomorrow I will share all about the Magic of "Dance Down" until then "Keep Dancing!"