Jan 2008--Ain't it Great?

Carol,

Man what a big weekend, but I am so glad you brought up the whole idea of talking to someone professional. Zach has been through a lot this past year, and this may be his way of acting out, but he's also 16, so it's really hard to tell what's going on with him. What was his response to your putting the idea out there?

I think it's a great idea that you will be 'on top of Zach' so to speak. I truly believe that jr. and sr.high are the ages kids need their parents at home more than when they are in elementary. This is a huge transition time for kids.

Thanks for the pics. You took some that we didn't, so these will be a good addition to ours. The movie, Bottle Shock,was based on true events and was pretty darned good. It was about how the California wine industry beat out the French in a taste test in France in 1976 and then again in 2006. The French were not happy either time. It was shown in an old theater from the 50's, maybe as old as the 40's in Sacramento.

Hope you slept well. I'm thinking I need a good night's sleep as well tonight.

Good night Jewels,

SIS Kimberly 

Hi Ladies,

Sitting here tonight while the ds is in the "galley" doing the dishes, he was showing off his bussing skills of carrying numerous plates at once.  YIKES !!!  The saga continues, but as we all know, time does tend to heal.  He walked to and from work today, as I was at work myself.  I think he is slowly coming to the realization that life is not over.  I brought up the idea of chatting with a counselor again, and he seems to think that its not necessary.  I asked him point blank if he was unhappy about anything at our house or at his dad's.  He said no, which I tend to believe.   

The ex talked with Zach's dr today in regards to potential blood disease from his poor decision making.  We we're told that Hep C is the most common problem, and that usually it would show signs by week two.  It has been just over two weeks, and so far so good, hopefully he has dodged a bullet.  A blood test in about 6 months would still be a good idea as well. 

 I was seen by my rad office today.  It was a follow-up appt, and the nurse was in amazement as to how well I have healed.  She was quite surprised, and I must say, I am completed elated with how fast the healing has happened.   

On day three of my Femera, so far so good !   Tomorrow I will be going in for an infusion of Zometa.  Its a quick infusion, all of about 20 minutes, and "should" not cause any nasty se's.  If that is the case I will be getting an infusion once every 6 months for a 3 year period.  With the common se of bone loss with Femera, the Zometa will help with that concern, as a osteoporosis drug, and there has also been more than one study done that concludes it has decreased reoccurence rates with "garden variety" bc. 

At this point, I'm going with my doc's recommendations, with a second opinion agreeing, adding some Calcium w/Vit D supplement, and I will be trying very hard to work on my eating habits.  I can thank Sis Kimberly for her insight/thoughts as to what we put into our bodies and I know with my visit to the store this weekend, I tried to spend much more time in the produce section, and avoided the processed middle sections of the store.  I've also been reading an interesting book entitled "Breast Fitness", bottom line for the menopausal woman would be less fat in your body equals less estrogen floating around.  For us ER+ gals, that's a biggy.  At this point I have the focus to stay fit for the 3 Day, and my goal will be to hit the indoor gym at work when the weather turns ugly. 

Julie, I can't believe that your home is going to be on the market so soon.  Seems as if you just mentioned the thought of selling a week or two ago.  Hope that the real estate market is moving in your neck of the woods.

Wow, your ds's game was a real blow out. Playing football in August always seems kinda strange, speaking of football I think our Sea"chickens" are playing tonight on Monday nite football. 

And I'm with you, I will travel wherever to meet up with the Jewels.  I'm so fortunate to have met Kimberly and I figure thats one down and many more to go!

D1 and Joan, hoping that you both had the chance to meet today.  Waiting for the report!

Kimberly, so sounds as if the movie was good, and the theaters ambiance was cool as well.  So a question for the vino officiano's what is the best way to keep an open bottle of red wine?  In the fridge, on the counter?  The "new" me is trying real hard to have a glass of wine at night, not two or three.  Hence the need to keep the bottle for a couple of days.

Hope you had a better nights sleep, and that work went smoothly.  

Already looking forward to a bit of a sleep in tomorrow, I have my infusion at 9:00 and then off to work after that.  Then its off again on Wednesday, having a little procedure to remove a "mole" or what I would prefer to call a freckle off of my back.  I spoke with the Derma doc today, asked if I could apply some Emla Cream to the area, she said we will be numbing it, which I knew, but why feel the needle at all was my thought.  She okayed the use of Emla prior to that appt.  YEAH,

Hubby just getting home, night all,

Carol   

Carol, I have the sideburn/chin blond hairs too, maybe the 'strays' under my eyes were a little lost and meant to hit the eyelashes.  

Such as life.   Keep on crusin LJ

Kris, you crack me up ...  lets hope with time these wild hairs mellow out!   Wishful thinking ???  With such low estrogen levels, I guess I should feel fortunate that I'm not sporting a full fledge beard.

LJ, what great news that your rads is almost done and your just a "wee" bit pink.  Sounds like you won't have to be slathered in Aquaphor and bandages to heal up.  Yipeeee!

Off to apply my Emla cream to my port, and back to the chemo center (now that seems a bit weird),  I'm certainly not dreading the appt like I did with chemo, I know that this infusion will help to keep my bones strong.  Bring it on !!!

Have a good day Jewels, Carol

Hi Jewels,

I was so tired from the wedding I'm just getting my strength back, I over done it and danced the night away. Plus I had this stomach bug for the entire weekend. dd wedding was beautiful and the reception was fab. I think I was just feeling the stress of the wedding at the rehearsal. We had about 50 or more poeple at the house for a rehearsal Bar B Q. So I got up Sat morning and mop the floors. Who does that on thier daughters wedding?  I don't know it seemed like a good idea at the time. We had the photographer coming over so I mopped the floors. I was sure tired after the reception. It was a wonderful and magical night for dd and new son in law. The food was great and I had such a wonderful time.

Thanks for thinking about me Jewels, I have been thinking of everyone too.

Carol and Kimberly  Love seeing all the photos of Lake Tahoe and Calf. Lake Tahoe is awesome.

D1  So college girl is off and running at college. I loved the part where you and your dh left before college girl changed her mind. Loved it!!!  I wanted to let you know i'm not having as much leg pain I think if you are on it for a few months the leg pains start to fade. My hot flashes are not as bad now too. But I might start having more leg pains being on my feet all day, until I get used to it. I really hated Tamox but i'm getting used to it. I did not gain any more wieght and I'm slowly taking off wieght some wieght. I think my body is starting to balance out on it. I do feel for you having to get used to it all over again.

Take care Jewels, and I promise I will get caught up on the post again.

CathyCA  I hope ds has a great college year!! You will have to show up some pictures of Yellow Stone.

Sherry

Joan and D!--I took a few days off from the posts and find out you guys met up in Poughkeepsie, which is an hour's drive from my house.  I could have made that to meet you guys!  Darn.  So close yet so far.  Small world.  Glad you had a nice meeting.  Lucy is so cute indeed. 

I finished my radiation with no problems.  My boob merely got pink where they did the boosts.  I have a follow-up visit tomorrow.  My biggest complaint is that my hair is growing so slowly on my head, but faster from the waist down.  I still won't go out topless yet.

I'm leaving for FL Sept. 7-12 and will be praying for clear weather.  I think Sept. is hurricane season down there.  Just my luck. 

My mom's aide is part time and seems to be working out, tho' mom can be unbearably sad sometimes.  

Best wishes to all the Jewels,

Maz 

Hello Jewels,

I went in this morning to have another body part whacked on (I swear it looked like a pretty normal freckle to me) but with my family history, I can't be too careful ... I called the Dermi Surgeon's office yesterday, and they said go ahead and put Emla cream on the area that was going to be operated on.  Worked pretty darn good, I felt the lidocane shot somewhat, but just faintly.  The doc shot me in three places, and I felt little to no discomfort at all.  Heck she was stitching me up before I knew it.  The incision is about 1.5 inches long (bigger than what I had thought), I guess when their doing a surgery like this they want to have margins to check as well.  I did get to see the specimen they took from my back, I amazed myself that it didn't gross me out at all to see it.  I should have results in about a week. 

My dh took the morning off to take me in (I took a whole Lorazepam at 8:00) which for me was alot.  I have always taken a half dose which typically has worked well.  Figured I go for the big guns this morning.  We we're back home by 10:30, the dh ended up going into work, the ds was picked up (hence has no wheels of his own now)  by his grandma to do some yardwork for her on his day off (gotta like that), and here then I sat. 

Yep, a bit tired from the drug, but within about an hour I decided to venture off shopping.  I hate to waste a day off doing nothing!  Needed to buy a baby gift for my friend, and thanks to my visit with Sis Kimberly, I came home and looked at my hodge-podge of office furniture that is on display in our bedroom and decided that I would like something a bit nicer to look at, and  that would be more functional.  Talk about a mismatched mess, some of Kent's stuff, some of mine, an ugly 4 drawer metal filing cabinet is just for starters.  I've brought home some brochures with measurements and hopefully I can come up with something that will look decent yet doesn't break the bank.  Actually the looking decent won't take much work, atleast to be better than what I've looked at for the past 9 years.  I too have a roll top desk, it looks "kinda" cool, but the functionality of it sucks, and nothing else even comes close to matching the look.  The ugly metal filing cabinet needs to hit the garage.  I'm using one drawer, and the rest is a free-4-all.  The new stuff I was looking at had some nice 2 drawer (matching wood) cabinets that would be sufficent for the everyday billing type stuff.  Heck the rest of the crap could be trashed IMO.

Also started looking for a small wine cooler (blaming this one on Kimberly as well !!!) I'd like something to hold about 20 to 30 bottles, didn't have too much luck with that, I think I may need to look on-line.  In the meantime Macy's had a nice little 8 bottle chiller on sale for $39.00 reg. $129.00.  Grabbed that little one, plopped it on an end table in the dining room for now, and loaded it with 8 bottles from our visit south.  Yes Sis Kimberly, the wine you so graciously gave to Kent and I has made the chiller !!!  So actually I'm not blaming you, I'm appreciating what we've experienced/learned by Greg and yourself in the wine world.

So I've been waiting for the numbness to wear off from this mornings procedure, so far, I feel great.  I've taken a couple ibu's, have now poured a bit of white wine and will be having a "nosh" (my fav new word) before throwing a flank steak on the bar'b.  Looks like it will be the ds and I tonight for dinner, the dh will be working late, I'll be putting up a plate for him.

I had planned on taking tomorrow off, (thinking my back might be sore), since I was going to be home I scheduled carpet cleaners to come and do the whole house.  Over the years I have had cleaners come in, usually I'd just do the main living area, this time I'm going for the whole sha-bang ... stairs too.  My ds will be able to help in the morning to get as much furniture as possibly off of the carpet, we'll be leaving things like the tv's, stereo cabs, and beds, but hopefully most of the smaller stuff we can pile onto the hardwood. 

Sherry, awesome pics from the big day, what a gorgeous looking wedding party, and may I say the mother of the bride was looking fabulous!  Mopping floors ... hmmmmm now I would expect that from D1, but from the rest of us?

Joan and D1, great pics, thanks so much for sharing ... bummerville on not being able to hook up with Maz as well.  So I want to know, was I the only one who got butterflies in my stomach with the thought of meeting up in person with a Jewel, whom it seemed so easy to yak on-line with?  You both look great, full of life and spirit, and D1, that poor le arm looks tiny to me.  I take it your sleeve is doing what its designed for.  I'll be giving you a jingle tomorrow, hope I catch you home.

Maz,  so glad to hear that your rad txt was pretty uneventful as far as se's go.  Hoping your trip to Florida accomplishes what needs to be done, and the worry of foul weather is not part of the game plan.

Kimberly, I'm thinking it was the full meal deal today for you at school.  I bet your wiped but hyped in a good sort of way.  Although kids sometimes don't know how lucky they are, I have this gut instinct that the kids that pass through your door are pretty darn lucky to have you as a teacher.   Hope things we're calm. 

Well looks like its dinner alone tonight, the ds just got a call from the restaurant he works at, due to somebody calling in sick so he is heading in on his one day off this week.  I am very happy that he said yes, and is willing to help out, I think I'll even let him drive my car to work this eve.  He just jumped in the shower as he was knarly from doing yardwork at Grandma's.   On top of that he took his paycheck today and put ALL but his insurance money he owes his dad for the month of September in the bank ...  YEAH ... just maybe he is getting a clue that Mom and Dad aren't so bad after all and that he can change his ways towards a more positive life.  He has been blowing every penny of every check on clothes, shoes, and hats, with a few bucks left over for the gas tank.  I'm thinking at this rate, the need for new school clothes has been taken care of.  I think that I'll wait until the school year gets underway and then see if maybe he might need something.  I'm usually good for buying the boxers, footies and undershirts, I can't go wrong there most of the time! 

Okay, my "small" glass of vino is dry, time to head to the galley, re-fill and fire the bar'b.

Can't say that I'm not looking forward to turning on the boob-tube, kicking back and enjoying the eve alone with the wieners !!!

Hope all is well with my fellow SIS friends, would really like to hear from a few MIA gals, please know that there is definitely not the need to respond to all the yakking going on, just let us know that maybe your still sneaking a peak at our post and that hopefully your doing well.   Just a sentence or two would be great ... if not, I'd like to assume all is good, and life is getter better by the day! 

Carol

Rads is done, poof, a thing of the past. Everyone was so nice. The other patients in the waiting room applauded when they paged me to come to the Green Room "for your LAST treatment" ... hugs from the rad tech, the receptionist, other patients, the Rad Onc (he's a big sweetie) ... a little graduation certificate from the Green team ... and flowers from the dp. I am humbled by how kind and caring people can be. That may be the single most significant "takeaway" from this whole experience.

Sometimes we can be deceived by peoples' behavior ... think bad behavior is the norm. I was sitting at a red light last week, just waiting for the light to change, just as it does I hear a beep, look up in the mirror, and see some young guy flipping me off. I think my jaw dropped open. Wtf? I guess he had wanted to go right on red and I was in his way. Whatever dude. You're going to have a pretty rough time of it in life if you think the universe is there to accommodate you.

I'm going to just believe that people like him are background noise in the great journey. That the people who count are the ones who give you hugs when you finish rads, who put little cards on your desk just to say they're thinking of you and pulling for you, who mow your lawn without you even asking .... They're the ones who matter.

Julie -- good luck with the house sale ! Here's hoping for a great offer and a painless closing !

Sherry, thanks for sharing the pics. Glad it was a nice wedding and reception for you. The guys in their dark suits/shirts look like they're ready for a Sopranos wedding  

D1 ...

Ok Jewels, I'm not even going to fudge and say I've been lurking and have read all the posts since I last posted, 'cause I haven't. I've been soooooo tired at the end of my day, and today I'm off to Ashland for the long weekend with my gf, so I have about 15 minutes before she arrives.

School is like stepping onto a planet I vaguely recall. I haven't found my groove as of yet....not that the kids would notice, but I'm kinda anal at school with being totally prepared.  Classes are packed!  I have 37 in on class and 36 in the others.  I'll write more about that later.  I just wanted to log in and let you know I'm alive.

Loved the pics Sherry. Your necklace really added WOW.  D1and Joan, how fun.  Lucy is a doll.

Carol, got your card. Thanks.

GTG

Kimberly 

Hi Jewels,

D1 - you inspired me with your kind comments about my hair. Well, I put some styling gel in it and blow dried it so it has some style. I am going without the hat/wig from now on!  I went to the nursing home and as I knew it, my mother said my hair was too short. She never liked short hair. Maybe thats why I've been so reluctant! But I have gotten some nice comments and will go back to school with my new do!

I brought Lucy with me today and we met up with a therapy dog. They got along great and the handler thought Lucy was an excellent candidate to be therapy dog when she is older.

My appt on Wed. with the rads dr. went well. He said I was doing excellent.

Kimberly - I hope school gets better. I've been in my classroom 2x to set up. I'm trying to get into the groove. We start next week.

Carol- Hope you enjoy the restaurant.

Everyone - Have a great Labor weekend! (even though its the end of freedom for me)

Joan

Well, the first week of school is over. I've had a good week. My classes are full- we have block scheduling, so 2 classes of 30+ and another smaller block of 17 for my elective class of medical terminology. I have a game plan established with the sub that is going to be win-win for both of us. She's an English major, so she'll be working with the kids on their college essays and portfolios. Frees me up to teach healthcare AND gets me out of lots of essay proofing- gotta like that plan!

So, happy Labor Day holiday to all the Jewels. Hope the weather is nice for those who have the weekend off and have plans!

Carol- Ouchy on the mole removal! Take it easy on the gardening. You'll have to substitute "chill and sip the vino" for "relax and smell the roses"!

Sorry to hear about the tattoo business. ((HUGS)) to you and Zach. Our teenagers' bodies mature faster than their brains. They'll be in their early 20s before the brain has completed "wiring" itself in the area responsible for making good decisions and controlling impulses. I'm glad Zach's health screen was okay and keeping fingers crossed for the 6 month follow-up.

Sherry- thanks for sharing the wedding pictures. Like Kimberly, I loved your necklace- great accessory! You were a lovely mother of the bride. I'm so happy everything went well. LOL at the image of you mopping the floor on the morning of the wedding.

Joan- You have a great head of hair! I think you'll be getting a lot more compliments on your new look! Enjoy your last days of liberty before the school year begins. Hope you have a smooth first week of school!

Julie- wow! Things are moving fast with the house. Don't envy you all the cleaning and keeping things picked up for the house to be shown. Good luck!

Kimberly- looks like school hasn't slowed you down any- off on another getaway, I see! Hope you have a wonderful time in Ashland.

Kris- thinking of you today- how did the port removal go? WTG dropping 10 lb. since chemo. I'm with you on the facial hair- double AARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!

LJ- yes! Another Jewel finished with rads. Congrats.

I was moved by your post:

"I'm going to just believe that people like him are background noise in the great journey. That the people who count are the ones who give you hugs when you finish rads, who put little cards on your desk just to say they're thinking of you and pulling for you, who mow your lawn without you even asking .... They're the ones who matter."

BEAUTIFUL!

Jenn- oh my! Take care of yourself and those knees. Hope you heal well from your surgery. May the dark places be far from your world, my friend.

Off to enjoy the weekend. Take care Gems,

Paula