Getting Fit for A Cure...

me....nah....I'm just withstanding the hard knocks of chemo...but my sisters...well.. that's a different story...

they are both participating in the Team in Training program with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Ashley's fundraising page is up and running...just like she is...a mile yesterday...go ASH!!

every dollar counts...especially if it means the next Mom might have a little easier road with her treatment...that's my battle cry "Fight Like a Mom"...because when I'm having a rough day, it's these two little faces that make me dry up the tears and pull up my big girl pants!

 

Please visit Ashley's fundraising page here.  Thanks for every penny!

The benefit of the doubt...

First, I had this awesome idea today to deal with wig bangs...see they are always IN MY FACE!!!  Last week, I pulled them back in a clip and that worked, but today, I figured out how to get them out of my face with my sunglasses!!!  It was totally cool, even makes the wig look a little less "wiggish" when there is something as natural as sunglasses on top...went to lunch - perfect, went in to work, again perfect...then pulled out of the parking lot of work and the sun was glaring in my eyes, and as I went to get my sunglasses...not only did I pull off my sunglasses....but the wig came off too...NOT SO COOL!!!  So let's just say, I won't be using my sunglasses as a headband anymore...

Now, I pretty much assume that everyone around me - friends, clients, even slight acquaintances, are of average or above-average intelligence...and yet, I am proven incorrect on a DAILY BASIS...I could become jaded, but I won't...I will still give everyone the benefit of the doubt...but after these two...I'm still just shaking my head...

First...a client came in to pay $100 towards her bill, as she does every month...and I can actually hear her saying this in a hushed tone..."How did Heather catch it?"...Now Lucy is VERY patient...I mean painfully patient...But I'm sure even Lucy almost lost it...But Lucy explained that it was CANCER...not a communicable disease...I didn't catch it...You can come around me with out fear of catching it!!!  What is sadder is that I know this woman procreated and raised a child....Almost afraid to meet said child...

Second...I talked to one of Morgan's friend's mothers today on the phone...Morgan and friend had cooked up a playdate and naturally I was just supposed to jump in the car and go pick up said playdate..."Mom, she lives in Old Mill"...Um no...so when said friend called, I asked to speak to her mom...this is where it gets good...I invite friend over to play tomorrow, and mom gives a tentative "yes", but needs to double check with husband because she just had baby four and she has "momnesia"... as quoted by her...I congratulate her and mention that Shane and I knew we could only handle two "darlings", so we stopped there...she then mentions that she and her husband were "perfectly happy with two, and were quite surprised by number 3 and flabbergasted by number 4, but it must have been God's will"...I'm sorry...now this is where I have to step back and say...many people are caught off guard by #3...but I haven't had a single friend who was surprised by #3, get "surprised" yet again with #4...it's called birth control....

Naturally I will get some backlash on this one...I think everyone should has a few or as many children as he/she chooses...but when someone says "we were perfectly happy with two", well that kind of indicates that you were happy with two...end of procreation story...anyway...God Bless Her and her four children... because I would be NUTS!!!

I am compiling questions for the Q &A blog post.  In the interest of well "interest", I'm trying to include photos...because every story is better with a photo...just my opinion...but thanks for the questions...I'm glad I don't have to make them up myself....I'm one step closer to coolness that way....

And if you saw a crazy girl pull her wig off today...yep... that was me!  Laughing at myself through cancer - one day at a time!!!

Stolen idea from the Pioneer Woman...

Posting often is getting a little difficult...I'm not that interesting especially when I sleep all day...but I used to read the Pioneer Woman's blog all the time and every so often Ree Drummond would open herself up to questions from her readers...People would ask the funniest/most serious/outlandish things... and those were just the ones she answered!!  I have received a few emails recently from new readers asking me questions...if I haven't answered those personally (due to internet problems), then I will add them to this Q &A...that's if I even get any questions...this could totally flop... but then you might not know it flops, because I could just answer random questions of my own choosing to make me look super marginally cool...

To sweeten the pot, I will answer some general tax questions if asked, but nothing that is going to cause me to wear the orange jumpsuit and pick up trash...that's just not a good look for me... and really...how much trash could "cancer girl" pick up anyway?? And cancer questions are fine...I'm pretty much an open book...

Oh, and my post at 2:30 this morning said that I was leaving to go out of town for the weekend...yep..Cancer Girl screwed up again... that would be next weekend...talk about starting off 8 women's day with a little hysteria...as my sister Ashley said to them, "and you believed Cancer Girl???"

So feel free to either ask questions in the comment section of the blog or email me at hhb1974@hotmail.com.  Deborah and Dawn, I have answers for you coming - I promise!! Thanks for playing!!! 

Arbor Oaks May Special

Shelly just posted a special on Facebook for May 2011...

MAY MADNESS: Book any weekend in the month of May, 2011 and receive a Thursday or Sunday night FREE!! 

Check Arbor Oaks out on FB here or online here.  Enjoy your stay!  PS - I do not receive a commission or referral fee, I just love to get away from it all with my scrappin' chicks, and this is a great place to do that.

Last time I was there, Lake Charles still had TWO local scrapbook stores, plus you almost HAVE to stop at Create 365 and Treasured Memories in Lafayette on your way there...PPS - no animals were harmed in this blog post...thank you very much...

Sleeping my way through cancer...

one day at a time...if it weren't for these two...

I could totally become "Hermit Heather"...I'm pretty sure Shane would just go about his daily activities and instead of going out to dinner, he could just bring food home...but these two aren't so easy to convince...they have Social LIVES, and AGENDAS and they NEED things (like trips to the mall for new clothes)...really important stuff...luckily for me, they often NEED SUSHI (see the menu in the above picture), which is a win for everyone except our budget...but since it's what Cancer Girl wants to eat, I can easily justify it as a "medical expense" (remember Playstation 3?)

And I'm not really a productive hermit...I'm a pretty sleepy hermit...I've decided it's the cumulative effect of chemo...or so the nurses have explained...it's not like the chemo from the first session is completely out of your system, so with each treatment, you "hoard" more chemo...not sure, but it must be true...because I didn't sleep this much the first or second go round...

I did put the finishing touches on some scrapbook layouts from a crop two weekends ago...and I'm leaving on Thursday to scrapbook (or sleep) with friends in Lake Charles at a cute retreat house Arbor Oaks.  Whether I'm sleeping or scrapbooking it will be nice to visit with friends and look at some other walls besides the ones in my house...

                                                                       

My Internet was giving me fits yesterday...Hermit Heather NEEDS her Internet...thank goodness it's back up now...I figured 3am was the perfect time for a blog post (especially for my friend Jana)...that's the other thing about sleeping your way through cancer... you don't always sleep when everyone else is sleeping...good if you prefer little to no human contact...but I enjoy human contact (especially germ free contact), so that's when caffeine is pretty handy...oh and btw, mt precious niece Mia has been in the hospital since Tuesday (I think, it could be Monday), and she's finally coming home tomorrow...she was admitted for dehydration, but I'm not sure exactly what they have been doing/testing all this time...but I know Jen and Dominick are MORE than ready to have their little girl back home...she even looks cute in her peach hospital gown...

I probably won't post while in Lake Charles...you can assume I'm still alive, just not blogging - you know me...always optimistic!!  Hope your weekend is filled with as many laughs as mine!!

Leg Cramps and Tongue Piercings...

Not intentional.... and NOT fun!!!  especially at 2am...the leg cramps that is... but my little friend here...

occasionally suffers from the same "flat footed leg cramp" syndrome that I do (I made that up if you had any doubt at all), and last night was Mommy's turn to rub her legs and draw a hot bath at 2am (Daddy took leg duty the night before)...

Now the tongue piercing is a result of chemo, and no, I didn't pierce my tongue, but I do have a hole that has almost completely burrowed through the center of my tongue so that I COULD have a piercing, but I would really just prefer the hole to close up and go away, because it is KILLING me...I'm going to the doctor today and demanding what my friend Melanie calls the "Miracle Mouthwash"...a mix of liquid Lidocaine, Benadryl, Maalox and Nystatin...and if I don't get it...well...let's not even think about that...because I need to lighten up on the Loritab bottle and the Miracle Mouthwash is my only hope...

Wish me luck!  Oh, and let's hope the leg cramps go away too, because "little Heather" needs her sleep!!

Just for laughs...

A friend send me the link to this website, and it's hysterical!!!  Especially if you have:

a) been pregnant
b) been around a pregnant person

so that pretty much covers everyone, and I bet you can find humor here...

Pregnant Chicken - Keeping Pregnancy Sunny Side Up  

The latest post, dated January 18 - "Clever Pregnancy Comebacks" had me laughing out loud!!!  But knowing my state of mind, that doesn't take much...

Some of my other favorites are:

Awkward Pregnancy Photos  and

10 Things to Never Say to a Pregnant Woman - cleverly listed under the "Best Of" section...

so when you find yourself in need of a good laugh, be sure to check Pregnant Chicken, I know I will!

Avery's big news....

Shane went to lunch with the girls today at school.  At about 1:30, I got this picture in an email, and about 10 minutes later, I heard the key in the front door...

It seems that the loss of Miss Avery's first tooth caused quite a meltdown at school.  Maybe it was the blood, but Shane said she went completely white, starting sweating, had to take her jacket off and was crying hysterically...so guess who left school early....Have I ever told the story about Shane's reaction to "seeing" my c-section in the operating room?  I think they may have the same reaction to blood and guts!

Right now she's sitting next to me on the sofa trying to get used to the new space in her mouth.  She's very quietly trying to say words with the "f" sound...so cute... and she keeps swallowing and sticking her tongue through the space...but she doesn't want me to notice that she's doing any of these things...

loving these few special minutes with her...even if she did ask me to put my hat on!!!!

Mrs. Ascension Parish...

here I come!!!!  Miss Delaware Kayla Martell has renewed my secret wish of becoming a beauty queen...I mean who doesn't want to duck tape her boobs together and tape her butt up?  Now I don't know all of the recent trends in "taping", but when I was at Southern Miss, I can guarantee those pageant girls LOVED some tape!

And since I know at least one of the members of the Homecoming Court at Dutchtown High School tanned, got hair extensions, got faux nails, bought two dresses that probably cost more than my wedding dress...all for the Homecoming Game presentation...I can't even imagine what is spent on pageant preparation these days...

Seriously, my days of pretending I was Miss America walking down the "catwalk" ended in about 7th grade, if you could have seen that haircut....I mean, it was clear very early that I wasn't exactly pageant material...

But here's Miss Delaware...

with and without her wig... she doesn't have the "canca", she suffers from alopecia...but either way she has renewed the dreams of bald girls everywhere!!!  So I Googled "Beauty Pageant Tips" in case I decide to enter the next pageant....

A more expensive wardrobe does not guarantee success.  Good thing  - because you know how I love a Goodwill shopping spree and fashion show!!

Brush up on grammatical skills and current events - NOW THIS IS JUST GOOD PRACTICAL ADVICE - EVERYONE START NOW!!

Practice. Practice. Practice your talent.  If you have the chutzpah to bring out the puppets, make sure it's going to be a crowd pleaser....

During my research, I stumbled across a video from WGN9News in Illinois.  If really interested, click HERE for the video.  Now this was the kind of info I was looking for...

• slather your butt with Preparation H the night before the pageant, then wrap your butt in Saran Wrap...this shrinks cellulite and tightens skin...
• "It Stays" (aka BUTT GLUE) keeps your bathing suit in the correct place...
• Visine not only helps with Red Eyes, but red acne...

How many times do you think I would have to slather myself with Preparation H and Saran Wrap before I look like this...(17 year old Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan)

I didn't find this tip specifically listed, although it was pictured over and over again...Always thank GOD...

I'm sure you're thanking me for these helpful tips - please feel free to pass this heavily researched info on to any pageant contestants...For now, I've decided that my beauty pageant dreams will once again be put on hold...since no one offered a solution for "deflating your body from steroid puffiness"...I"ll spare the judges for now...

And one last thing...Don't ever forget the competitive spirit!!

 

So this is what chemo nausea feels like...

it's the pits!!!  been in bed all day, which is fine, I needed the rest since I didn't get much yesterday, but I'm quickly remembering the entire 9 months of pregnancy for Morgan... and it isn't one of my more pleasant memories!

I have taken the super duper Emend pill, Zofran and Phenergan.  The girls will be home soon, so luckily my mom is on standby to help with them.  At least this week, I may not double my weight eating everything in the kitchen - gotta find the bright side right??

Plus I have my new Elle Decor, a Martha Stewart Living I "borrowed" from the Oncologist's office and the new Pottery Barn Bed and Bath catalog.  That's HOURS of good "picture" reading!!

Off to design new decors with the help of my magazines!!!

My latest addiction...

Coke Rewards Points... and it's all Susie Harris' fault... you see, Susie posted these awesome magazine subscriptions you can get with Coke Rewards points...You can see her post here.  Too bad this coincides with the decision that Shane and I would try to cut out artificial sugars from drinks - as in less Coke Zero, Diet Coke and Crystal Light...which means LESS Reward points...damn...

But look at the magazine possibilities...

   

And did you know that the "suitcase" of Coke sold at Wal-Mart (probably everywhere else too) is worth 20 POINTS!!!!  Makes me drool!!! Magazine subscriptions used to make me feel guilty because I never had time to read them...or even if I read them...what do I do with them after?  Well now, I just drop them off at the Oncologist's office and share with other patients - WIN WIN for everyone!  Plus, I'm pretty sure that even after I get the "all clear" from Dr. Spell, I'll still make time to read these beautiful magazines...I think cancer is teaching me some important lessons...don't stress about the little things - does it REALLY matter if the girl's bows match their outfits (only for professional family portraits - and that's only once a year...)...does my backyard ever really need to get landscaped...who cares...toys on the floor?  step over them...and so I probably won't learn how to use a miter saw this year...but I'm laughing everyday and my girls are happy too - I'd say that's enough for each day!

PS - but if you want to send me some Reward points - hook "cancer girl" up!  Unless of course, now I have you hooked on Coke Reward points too!!

PPS - Pathetic, but true, and therefore blog worthy....I was at a crop this weekend and saw an empty Coke 2 Liter in the trash WITH the top on it and I took the top off the bottle that was in the garbage can...I am not proud of these moments...yet I still share them with you...

PPPS - Shane was in an airport last night when he read my blog, so he brought me a copy of Elle Decor - I love that man!!!

Choosing a sitter - Part Deux

Had my third chemo today - Usually sleep like a log on Night One - but tonight I am WIRED and SWEATING (you know...the 'roids)...

So, let's revisit the "sitter" issue...Remember... Choosing one Wisely???  The day after Chemo One Nurse Karen came and spoiled me rotten...just catching you up...you don't have chemo brain do you???

Day two post Chemo One AND my birthday my sitter was...Melanie Hyatt... a real life nurse...a fabulous friend that I made after moving to Baton Rouge - of the scrapper variety naturally, so you know, she's gotta be a little "off"...on the creative side of life...you know...

Now more than once I have broken down in tears while on the phone with Melanie since this "adventure" began...Luckily I can be totally open with Melanie...and that means she gets to "hear" the tears fall sometimes...

So what does this wonderful woman bring me on my birthday and my second day after chemo?  please, prepare yourself....

(Now here's where you have to imagine the picture I took but have since lost and I REALLY thought about staging another one, but it's the middle of the night and I have neither a sweet potato nor a McDonald's cheeseburger handy...)

yes, a sweet potato and a McDonald's cheeseburger...and armed with a warning that SHE needed a nap...I'm not passing judgement here...My goal here is to educate...

When I started to look sleepy she grabbed the down comforter from my bed and snuggled onto my den sofa...OUT LIKE A LIGHT I tell 'ya!!!  I was tiptoeing around HER!!!

Since then, I have now assigned her to Morgan and Avery duty and abandoned Sitter Duty altogether.  No one needs to come hang out at my house all day and talk to me in between naps - that's just silly - so no Sitters needed...I'll let you know if that changes...But visitors are welcome...especially with Sonic drinks!

I hope this post will aid you assigning Sitter duties if the need every arises.  Remember, I'm here to educate.  And Melanie....I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

(circa 2009)

Monday Morning....

I'll be in the chemo chair today... Ashley is sitting with me...Anytime she looks like she might fall asleep I'm going to force her to "play" Madlibs... wonder how much she'll love that?!?  Have a funny day!

Where did it go??

as in...this week??  oh, yeah - I slept it away...here are the highlights:

Monday: Doctor appt, got blood typed and matched at the hospital, bought a new wig, was asleep for 3:30pm
Tuesday: Blood transfusion, asleep by 2:30pm (but I made it up for Morgan's honor roll assembly)
Wednesday: awake from 9:30 to 11:30am, then back to sleep until 3:30pm...but Shane is working late tonight, so I DID manage a Walmart trip (my first since the cancer thing), did homework, made dinner, two loads of laundry and cleaned the kitchen...

so maybe this transfusion is making a difference...I keep waiting for this sudden burst of energy to erupt which turns me into the Energizer Bunny...but maybe that's a little optimistic.  My aunt says my coloring is much better - she didn't realize how pale I was until she saw me before and after the transfusion.

I am in awe of blood donors now.  I was a regular blood donor for years until being turned away about 4 times in a row for anemia.  I received  FOUR PINTS of blood - so FOUR people had to donate blood in order for me to get that transfusion - unbelievable!  I hope all of the brilliant scientists in the world eventually figure out a way to make synthetic blood, but in the meantime, the world relies on the Good Samaritans who donate blood.

I have been asked more than a few times about donating blood on my behalf.  I have found out that Our Lady of the Lake runs its own Blood Bank ( a very large one it seems), therefore replacement donations must be given there.  Shane is going to give blood next week and figure out the procedure (ie. a form to fill out with my name, etc) and then I will pass along the info.  Anyone who is a regular blood donor who wouldn't mind donating at Our Lady of the Lake next time on my behalf would be greatly appreciated.  Once Shane donates, I'll have better info to pass along.  I still can't believe that FOUR people had to give blood in order for me to receive the transfusion - no wonder there is always a blood shortage - thanks to all the blood donors in the world!!

A pinch of creativity...

That's how much I had this week...not even a cup...but it was enough to get me back in my scrapbook room and that was perfect!!  So let me tell you what REALLY got me back in my scrapbook room....

See, I'm a sucker for architectural details...Can't afford them,  but I love them...so everytime my boyfriend Kevin comes over for a "project" ("project" is the code word for "something Heather designed in her head with no actual skills to create it, and Kevin gets to figure out")...I  make sure something pretty is included on his list...

Let me explain the boyfriend part...I have the MOST fantastic Ironman husband - Would NOT TRADE him for anything...and he's handy with a lightbulb or a loose fence board, but when it comes to creating the visions that dance around in my head....well, there's Kevin...Shane and Kevin's wife are fine with this arrangement.  Kevin's wife actually introduced us...she keeps my house free from the health inspector, and she waters my plants to boot... and Shane's just happy that I don't bug HIM to figure out how to create the "sugarplums dancing through my head"...

Kevin's main job this time was shelving the attic - totally Shane's request...Is it pretty??  Does it involve salvaged materials??? NO - so you know that project wasn't on MY list...but since he was here, I asked him to trim out the upstairs windows, and build some built in bookshelves in my bowling alley of a "bonus room" - see...the good stuff!!!  The bookshelves are in progress...I'll be sure to show you the before and after, but only if you promise not to try to cheat on me with Kevin...I don't mind waiting for him to fit me in between "real" jobs, but I still need to be his #1 girlfriend  :)

So back to the trimmed windows - one of which is in my scrapbook room and Thursday was a lovely sunny breezy day, so I opened that beautifully trimmed out window and sunned my toes...

While sunning my toes, I started to look around at piles of "layouts in progress" (term used loosely) and decided to work on a few of them.  By this morning I had four pages completed....I owe it all to my tanned toes.....

These may not be my best creations... but they are the first ones since that whole cancer thing went public...so hell, they are better than nothing...and I broke the dry spell and that's the most important part, because everyday is just a little better if I get to create....

I Love You Mommy

I'm recording this story as much for your sake as my own....


I went to work yesterday and I was at the bus stop to pick up the girls...You have to understand that Morgan isn't generous with hugs and kisses and especially "I love you's" (except maybe if your Daddy, and then well....Daddy's Girl...)

But yesterday, after she hopped in to the car and gave me the "once over", she leaned in real close and whispered into my ear, "I Love You Mommy"...those four simple hushed secret words...I went to bed with tears in my eyes last night from them and I'm doing it again tonight...

Because in the few short weeks since my diagnosis, I have learned that those four seldom said words by Morgan mean so many things at once....It's her way of saying...

"Thank you for getting out of bed today and turning from Sick Mommy to Normal Mommy
Thank you for wearing your wig and some makeup and letting me forget that you're almost bald and your skin is white as a sheet
Thank you for letting me come home after school to my own house instead of being shuffled to GiGi's house
Because I don't understand this whole cancer thing, and sometimes I just want to crawl into my Mommy's lap and cry for a little while"

And it's because of my precious angel girls that I will continue to "Fight Like a Mom" everyday. It's what made me take a shower at 3pm today and put on fresh clothes and a hat and some makeup just before the bus arrived. Because no matter how I feel, I have two little girls who need their Mommy... And I need them even more...

Hopefully I will fall asleep in the middle of this post...

I love the steroids that Dr. Spell gave me yesterday...even if I've only slept for three hours since 7 am Monday morning...I know.. it's only Tuesday night...but I'm a wimp like that...

But today was like a Rockstar day - the steroids swooped in and made me feel like that girl 2 months ago without a care in the world - I even had a little pep in my step - ha!

I took the girls to Cracker Barrel for breakfast - I called it the "last day of Christmas break celebration", but that was really code for "Mommy wants BACON!!"  They didn't even want to go, but I promised that they could get something from the Cracker Barrel "store" which is 5 times more expensive than the Dollar Tree, but...I wanted BACON!!!  When Avery literally chose something that was $4.99 that we bought just last week at DOLLAR TREE for.... ONE DOLLAR, I told them we were going to Dollar Tree and they could each choose THREE things.  They were sold - they are so cheap and easy...just like their....nevermind...

But first, we must stop for Checkers...I just read emails in the big rocker until the fighting was causing the diners INSIDE to stare..so off to Dollar Tree we went...

But I took the back way to Dollar Tree and that leads us past Goodwill, and I really can't resist a Goodwill stop, so I tell the girls we might even find BETTER stuff at Goodwill, and they rolled their eyes wishing they were born to another mother and followed me in...But as luck would have it (remember Rockstar Day!), they each found precious treasures for less than $1 each - and they quickly realized that this stuff was better and CHEAPER than Dollar Tree so they are hooked... god I love turning them into little thrift store junkies...

Buy this time it's about 11:15 and I drop them off to play at Bailey's house while I go and get my wig "done".  But my stylist is on "Rebecca time" so I sneak down to one of the little boutiques in the same strip and instantly fall in love with these shoes...

You must understand - I DO NOT IMPULSE BUY - it was totally the Rockstar steroids!!  I wore them right out of the store..and yes, my foot is gently resting on the door of my new "hand me down" car, but I didn't smudge it...(just a little tangent, we realized during Christmas week that we were destined to have both of our cars die at the same time, so in order to pay off one before a second one was necessary, we traded in my 2001 Avalon, I got Shane's Highlander and Shane got a Tahoe...Just imagine how many people DON'T buy new cars Christmas week, so just a tip - the dealership was REALLY happy to be able to put a sale on the board - very good for the buyer!!!)

So I head back down to Rebecca - in my new shoes... and my "girl" gets a little trim...here is the finished product...now let me warn you...I feel like I need a pole and a bunch of $1 bills (and a hot bod), but it is better than bald, so I'll adjust...

After leaving Rebecca I stopped in Sally's because my wig needed a head - hellooo!!  And just for kicks I bought a sassy lip liner and dark red toe nail polish...then I headed home to pick up the girls from GiGi's (she took over when the play date ended - we all assumed I would be napping by this point, but not this Rockstar...) and then we get to the part of the day when you just want to stop and ask if Candid Camera is watching...

First thing Avery asks when she sees me is, "Is that your real hair?"  Who is she kidding?  I didn't grow a head of hair since this morning...so naturally, I answer that it is a wig and she says, "Well, hello Wig Girl"...Thanks Avery...true love...

Then 10 minutes later as Shane and I are eating dinner, Morgan runs through the kitchen twirling my wig around and I yell, "GO PUT MOMMY'S WIG DOWN!"  Could I make this stuff up?  We used to be so normal...well we passed for normal... now there is NO WAY anyone is buying that!!  And one day this will all be distant memory...unless of course one of the girls take up "WIG dancing"....

My joints need a very long soak in a hot tub, but I'm a little worried I may fall asleep and drown in the tub...and how sad would it be if Cancer Girl dies from drowning in her own bathtub...So it may just be straight to bed...I'll be in touch....Hope your dreams are filled with laughs!!!

The Monday Afternoon Update...

First, let me just say, being a sex symbol is hard work - good thing the big boobs are a thing of the past...  Bring me my housecoat and knee highs...Flat chicks rule!!

So I have a standing Monday morning appointment at the Oncologist's office.  No matter what, I always think I can drive myself, and Shane usually wins out and proves me wrong...and that's why we make such a great team - he's the smart rational one and I'm the emotional roller coaster...

In my last post I wrote about the Neulasta shot pain which was accompanied by a 72 hour migraine, so when Dr. Spell walked into the room this morning, it took a total of three seconds before I broke into tears.

Huge Surprise - my blood counts were in the toilet!  Worse than the "1.0 WBC" of two weeks ago - this week my WBC is 0.5, and the rest of my counts were in the tank too.  Especially my Red Blood Count - which I now understand gives you energy... and when it's in the crapper you feel like crap. 

So we have a new plan...I got some steroids for the "Neulesta shot" pain, I'm staying on the migraine cocktail to combat the headache caused by Neulesta, and on Monday, we'll recheck my blood counts.  If my counts don't improve, we are turning to transfusion land...it's kind of vampire-ish, but if it makes me feel more human, then I'm all for it... come over and let me TASTE YOUR BLOOD!!!

I also need to stop comparing myself to other cancer patients - because unless someone else is receiving treatment for Stage 4 Lymphoma, their experience can't be compared to mine and I'm spending too much time beating myself up because other patients aren't having the same problems as me.  I thought it would be helpful to read blogs of other cancer patients, etc, but their experiences are so foreign to mine, that the constant comparisons are not healthy for me.

So that's the 411 for today...I am cracking myself up with all this cool lingo...So much so that I'm going to go to bed now...There is only so much laughing I can handle between naps...

The Learning Curve...

Let me just start by saying - my boobs are HUGE!!  Too bad the rest of me has transformed into a giant marshmallow too, but for now, I will revel in the positive - BOOBS!

Since this is my second round of chemo, I'm seeing a trend - got my graph paper out and I'm plotting it...not really...but I'm a pretty big nerd, so graph paper isn't that far off...

Day One is Chemo, Day Two is Neulesta shot (the White Blood Count making monster), and on days one through five I take a mega steroid dose which is actually helpful in keeping the "WBC making pain" at bay...

And then Friday night hits....and it's another round of laying on the cold tile floor...except this time, Ironman has me hooked up with these refreezable packs which I position along my back, neck and head (while in bed - thank goodness) and change out when they defrost...So it's Sunday, and I've been in bed basically since Friday night - let's just say Shane didn't exactly ring in the new year...and tomorrow I go back to see GG where I will beg for a steroid pack to ease the pain during the upcoming week...

And IF I'm put in the bubble again, I have a MAJOR TO DO LIST:

(feel free to choose an item and come and help me cross off the list - I'll even let YOU cross off with the big black Sharpie...)...so some of the REALLY important things are:

• Organize my closet
• Touch up the paint in my bathroom from where I moved some fixtures
• Fill some holes and spackle and paint in Morgan's room - a design idea gone terribly wrong!
• Paint an enormous wood circle black so that I can turn it into a clock for my den wall
• Learn to sew
• Turn the Moose Munch containers from Harry and David into scrapbook embellishment holders
• Add lighting to the front garden (garden used VERY loosely)
• Design a new arrangement of pictures for the den wall 
• Scrapbook
• Actually do Bellanger and McQuiddy work from home

That's all I can think of right now, but if you have something more fun to add to the list, please let me know!   I'm always open for suggestions!  Monday and Tuesday the girls are still off of school - they won't help with my To Do list - it's more likely that I will be keeping them from terrorizing each other...note to self: extra meds on Monday and Tuesday!

Since my readership has increased greatly recently, I have to share something that will be completely normal to most of you, but might freak out the readers from far away....  We are cooking a TURDUCKEN today - it smells really good too!  And no, I wouldn't have purchased one, but a client gave me one (oops - gotta write the thank you note - think he'll mind if it has turducken juice on it?) so we are baking it today...

A turducken is a dish consisting of a de-boned chicken stuffed into a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed into a de-boned turkey - and there is stuffing between each layer of meat.  I have to admit, I've only had it once, but in South Louisiana EVERYONE eats them (but we also eat crawfish and raw oysters, so what do we know?)

If you want a little history about this insane "bird", here's some info from the Tabasco website.  And lastly, just a little turducken humor...

Have a great day filled with laughs!!!  And if you are in the neighborhood - come over and get a piece of the "bird"!