Jan 2008--Ain't it Great?

Just taking a break from the laundry to check in and see what's up with the Jewels. My port is history! Had it taken out Monday under twilight sedation. Dd went with dh and me-she has her learner's permit and drove us home after the procedure. I could have driven, though. Easy as pie, Carol-no worries! We did a little shopping on the way home (just a quick trip into Kohl's and Office Max).

I'm glad the work week is over... two more weeks of doing the work of two teachers-our nurse is set to start Nov. 3. I'll still be doing a lot of the planning after she starts, mentoring the new teacher, etc. But it will be a lot easier than planning for a sub that doesn't have a clue about what we teach. (Julie, I'm doing the sub plans because I'm the lead teacher and I'm responsible for getting all the seniors ready for clinicals).

Kimberly- thinking of you and your ds. I'm encouraged to hear that her cancer was found so early. WTG getting her to get that MRI!     I'll be 47 next month-been in menopause since age 44. Don't think Auntie Flo will be back to visit here... I just recently started having hot flashes. They're pretty mild and short-lasting, but WOW!    You asked about the funding for my student conferences. We have to raise that money-no support from the school system for the kids. The last conference was on a Saturday and the kids paid a registration fee to attend.

Carol- we talked for an hour?! It didn't seem that long-that's how it goes when you're talking to a friend. Thanks for calling! (And WOO HOO on losing your yoga cherry!)    Sounds like Zach's Sylvan visit went well. Hope he got his work schedule worked out. Ds went to weekends only after a month of juggling work and school. It has made things a lot better for him. He has time to keep up with his school work, work on college admissions stuff, and enjoy his senior year.

D1- so college girl has a budding romance... what memories that brings back! Glad to hear she's getting awesome grades this year. The freshman year is tough-sounds like she's on track to make the grades she wants. Where does she plan to study abroad?     Funny, our kids had their homecoming dance last Saturday-a week after homecoming. In my day (boy, that phrase makes me feel old), we had homecoming dance after the ballgame.    I watched the debates this week, too. No big moments on this one, IMO. I was entertained a couple of times, but mostly just bored.... 

Sherry- love those curls, girlfriend! My hair isn't so curly, but it does have a bit of wave. I had a trim this week to shape it up a bit (my first real trim!).     LOL at popping an extra water pill-hope you got some sleep... How's the job situation?

CHJ- you look great-love the scenery, too. The Shenandoah Valley is beautiful. Your hairstyle looks familiar... like lookin' in the mirror!     I'm still undecided on the genetic testing also... postponed the decision until my next f/u appt in Dec.    Have fun tomorrow at your Race for the Cure! Hope you're not too bombarded by PINK! (LOL at the pink vacuum-WTF?) There's a Pepto thread?? Gotta check that out...

Deb- WOW! That was a big event. I have heard of Corrigan and went to Amazon to check out her book. It sounds great (I ordered it). There's a cool video about her below the book info on the Amazon site-definitely peaked my interest in reading her book.    My neuropathy is minimal-occasional problems with the legs and feet, but don't need the Mirapex anymore (that was very effective for the restless legs syndrome, though)

Kathy- glad you had a good weekend away. So, the curls will go when I get a "real" haircut instead of a trim, eh?  Ah! I had forgotten about the nip surgery... the stitches are out. Now let's hope this nip is a keeper!

Carla- dang! I hate that your DH is still being such a... DH! (((HUGS)))     I got your PM. I have to reschedule ds' visit to WVU-had one for Monday, but got my port removed instead. I'll be in touch when I have a date.

Bobbie- hey, there! Nice to see you on this thread. We've "met" before on the brain cancer/breast cancer thread. Your dh had a brain cancer like my dh's, correct? How are the two of you doing?

Julie- how has your week been after your marathon outdoor activities last weekend? Hope you didn't overdo it with the yard work!

LJ- thanks for sharing your exercise routine. I haven't been doing weight training... really need to get started on that.

Therese- your weekend sounds FUN! Enjoy!

Sorry this turned into a novel... (is anyone still reading?) If you are, I need some suggestions for good books. I'm out of reading material.

Have a good weekend, all! Paula

HI Jewels Happy Saturday,

I made it to my walk today. I was kinda sad because my family was busy and I had to go by myself. Both of my sisters are having problems with thier knees and could not walk. So I did not take any pictures there. I did have a lot of fun just socializing and mostly walking. It was a 3 mile walk instead of 5. I did the 3 miles with ease. They gave me a metal and the black scarf. I have not been on in a week, because I was working at my job at kmart and then training for my work at home job as CSR. I passed all my training and will start that job soon. I'm off for the next 4 days so I will be on talking soon. I hope everyone's walk went great.

 Take care, Sherry

Was sitting here this evening watching some ladies golf on the boob tube and there was a commercial of sorts, for BC.org.  This definitely caught my attention.,

For those who might have On Demand on their cable network ... there are programs On Demand that Breastcancer.org is a part of.  From the On Demand menu you go to Life and Home, and from there to Pink Ribbon.  It was kinda cool to see the Founder of BC.org Dr. Marisa Weiss, and hear what she had to say about the website.  Okay, not what we all might want to watch on a Sat night, but I thought it was worthy of passing the info along.

While I'm here ...

Sherry, the scarf you received is too cool.  Good for you to go ahead and participate in the walk even though you we're flying solo.  Sometimes thats the best way to meet and chat with people.  Thanks for sharing the pics!  

Carla, fish in the heels ??????  Too funny !!!!! 

Hi Ladies,

So the site still seems a little outta whack ... I find if you hit each prompt more than once it kicks ahead as it should.

 Today has been prettty mellow, last evening was rather stressful, the ds whom had plans to meet with the buddies before the homecoming dance had issues, seems as if the buddies wrangled up dates, so lil' ol Zach was suddenly not included in their game plan.  God, I felt so sorry for him, he had worked all afternoon, immediately was texting away trying to find out what was going on with the buddies.  No response, no response, and then found out they had made other plans while he was at work for most of the day.  I could only encourage him to head up to the dance solo, he was totally bummed, finally about an half hour before dance time I hear him showering, thinking this is a good thing, next thing we know he is out at our dinner table asking the fil how to tie his tie!!!  I was thrillled.  Good for him I thought, he looked quite dapper (yep, what every mom would say), we had bought a new tie to go with the black on black look, and he had even gotten a haircut right after work.  Off he went, with directions to call home with a game plan after the dance.  Got the call at 11:30, asked to go bowling??? Okay, I said in a half comatose state, next thing I know its 12:30, and he is home safely guess the bowling fell through.  Sounds as if the eve went pretty good, he is harder then heck to get any details out of.

The dh and I hit another round of golf today, it was a whopping 50 degrees, but I still opted for shorts.  Hate to golf all bundled up!  Hit the store this morning, finally went through some cookbooks to actually make something other than the no-brainer ideas of the past ump-teen months.  Looking forward to a scallops w/proscuitto and spinach dish tonight.  The dh was impressed with the amount of fruit and vegi's in the fridge, my hope is to try something new a couple times a week. 

CHJ, thanks for sharing the pics, hey you look pretty damn good in pink !!!

Kimberly, I got your PM ... let me know if I can be of any additional help. 

I was telling Kent on our way to golf about your wine tasting at your place ... we both agreed that it sounded like it would be a fun time.  You two definitely have the ""hostess with the mostness" thing down well !!!

Julie, I appreciate the popping in even though life is full up, its still great to see from all of our SIS Jewel friends.

Back to the galley, watching the pathetic Seahawks tonight, a lil MLB baseball and the final round of women's golf ... LIFE IS GOOD!

Carol

Hi girls -- just a quick check-in tonight! Glad to see it's been slow here the last couple days - not too much to read up on! Guess that's good news.

D1 - when do you leave for your trip? Sounds like you're busy getting packed! How long will you be gone? I'm so lame - I didn't even get out my Halloween decs this year - just too pooped when I get home from working all day to deal with it and haven't had any time on the weekends. Oh well -- I'm looking forward to decorating for Christmas though!

Carol - you have me inspired to start doing some exercise! I actually worked out last night for the first time since my last surgery. I did look into some class options, but there just isn't much around here, which disappoints me. Being a fellow DWTS fan (could Cloris PLEASE be voted off??!!!!), I even looked into some adult dancing lessons, but there are only two studios by us and it didn't look like either of them had adult classes. Oh well -- guess it's me and my treadmill in the meantime. I had hoped to work out again tonight, but haven't had the time yet and it's almost nighty-night time. Night meeting tomorrow, so it won't be until Friday that I'll have time again.

Sounds promising for Zach! Hope he keeps the positive attitude. My ds came home with his first report card of the year and did surprisingly well!! His lowest grade was an 89% and, if you remember, he has not allowed me to help him with or check ANY of his homework so far this year. I was VERY pleased that his math grade was a 92%!! (we ended last year with a C in math!)

Carla - that's so sweet of you to take such interest in your manicurist. Glad it turned out okay.

Well, the latest with the house issue is that dh and I had a "heart-to-heart" last night about the importance of ds's education and we're now leaning toward moving closer to MY school instead of dh's. My district is much better, educationally, and we're not facing quite the deficit that dh's district is. We moved closer to his school when ds was entering kindergarten because of dh's work schedule and we NEVER saw each other. Luckily, we got ds into the private Catholic grade school that is wonderful. We're, of course, worried how ds will react because he'll be leaving friends and what he's known for the last seven years. We'll have to see how it all plays out, but that's the new "twist" in the saga.

Better get ready for bed -- night all!

Julie

Hey Jewels,

I see there's not much happening ... we'll chalk that up to being a good thing.

I thought I would be flying solo tonight, but the dh decided to leave in the morning and return Monday on a business/watch the dd play soccer trip to CA. I was planning on eating out, now I figure we should eat up some of the food sitting in the fridge, not half as much fun IMO !!!

Went for my annual "giddy up ... hop in the stirrups" physical today. It was just over a year ago since the last, and at that appt, the doc was the one who felt the thickening of my breast. At today's appt we shared a lot of laughs (she is a crack up ... and no I did not use a sparkle washcloth), discussed hormones or lack there of, vit supplements, and her candid opinion on intimacy, (again ... or lack there of !!!). Okay TMI, but those exams are not too pleasant when the ol' body parts are out of practice !!! I told the dh when I got home that he would like her recommendation in that department, "use it or lose it" ... atleast he is still chuckling when I mentioned it.

Tomorrow morning I'm going back in after fasting for a cholesteral check, and some kind of liver enzyme test (heck I don't even know what that one is).

Also saw the Dermie doc ... just a follow up on another healing scar ... all looks good, well as good as it can get when it's a scar.

Julie, so your getting some inspiration from me, and I've gotten it from D1 and Kimberly. So the exercise talk is a good one ... personally I think its cool we're talking about exercise and not nausea, headaches, my GI distress, etc., of the past !!!

OMG ... your ds is doing great with his schoolwork. Hopefully he will be receptive to a possible move in the near future.

You know that Cloris has got to be getting the older generations vote ... my fil really gets a kick out of her. The one thing I like about the show is that its something that our college girl likes to watch, we like it, and her granddad likes it. There's not too many programs, other than sports, that we can say that to, with a age gap of 60+ years.

Kathy, glad your kids got a kick out of getting a little something.

I'll take your reservations for next summer as a reminder to get ours in for next year. We usually book our condo for our watersport outing to the eastern half of the state when we leave from that years vacation. Well we missed this year, so I hadn't even thought about reserving our place for next year. I'll be on the horn tomorrow trying to set something up.

From our experience, you will be a bundle of info to your friends that may need some input. Sorry to hear of the not so great news.

Too cool, on another proud mom moment ... doesn't get much better than that !!!

Off to the galley ... hope life is good for you all in one way or another !!!

Carol

Hello from the Great Northwest ... its been a beautiful day here in lil' ol Poulsbo. 

So I had a day to do whatever I darn well felt like, and I accomplished close to nothing !  Spent the morning chatting with a couple of gal friends on the phone, sent off a few e-mail notes to some acquaintances from the 3 Day walk, a quick trip to the grocery store and post office and back home. 

I decided to invite my old neighbor (whom moved down the street) over for a Filet Oscar tonight.  She has had a bummer of a week, had to put down her little wiener dog which has been her companion for 16 years.  This is the second little one to pass on this year, as the daughter to this dog was put down about 8 months ago.  I called her this afternoon, said that I was sitting here by myself tonight and asked if she would like to join me for dinner.   She has always enjoyed the attention that our two lil' wieners have to offer so hopefully they will be of some comfort tonight.  She is bringing the wine, and I'll be preparing the meal.  Sounds good to me !!!  She is 87 yrs old going on 60 !!!  She is very "up to snuff" with her politics (which are comparable to my views), loves sports ... I'll have the World Series game on, and is just all around good company.  Only slight problem is that she is very hard of hearing ... I'll be chatting with "my outside voice" for the eve !!! 

Hey Cathy, so by now you have completed your 18 miler today.  I read your post last night, that is what inspired me to write a couple of quick notes to some of the gals that I walked with up here.  We had some of the best conversation and laughs about the dumbest things come about mile 14 or 15.  Hope that your feet are holding up well, mine are still peeling just a bit, I was pretty careful not to fiddle with them much during training.  That built up extra layer of skin proved to be very worthy during the actual event.  I know of a couple of ladies who are also walking the San Diego event that did the Seattle 3 Day, it should be awesome !!! 

Glad to hear of another "good-to-go" mamo report.

D1, you are probably at destination Carribean by now.  We'll be looking forward to your report either from "paradise" ... oh, thats right your going to be working, not being a beach bum, or a synopsis when you get home.   Be safe my friend.

Julie, I caught Susan Love on one of the morning shows that I Tivo when she was talking about the Army of Women.  She was saying how important it is to get those of us who have battled the disease as well as others to participate in some of the statistical research.  I have signed on to the website, assuming that I may be involved in one of the studies.   I have enjoyed listening to her take on the subject from the get go !

 Okay, off to the galley, need to crack a bit of Dungi crab to put on top of our filets ... geeez the dh is missing out on a good meal tonight !!!  Oh Kimberly, I don't know if you recall, but I sure do as you asked me one evening while at your house if I wanted a Capresse salad or "something else", I had to fess up and say "what the heck is a Capresse salad", you graciously told me, and I opted for that, since then that has been one of my new fav's to fix.  Hope Muriel enjoys it as much as I do.

Hoping that your hanging in there with work, exercise, your sis, and whatever else your up to.  You never seem to have a dull moment.  I fired off a card today to Kathleen, I kinda yakked about who this stranger was sending a card from Poulsb, hope it didn't end up sounding too goofy. 

All for now ... Carol

Wow, what happened to the weekend? Just got in from a shopping trip with dd. She was busting out of her jeans and her bras... got that all taken care of now. I got to shop for myself as well. I was selected by Coldwater Creek to participate in their customer experience program. They sent me two $50 gift cards and I had to make two separate visits to shop and complete their online survey rating the experience afterwards. Today was visit # 2. I got a lovely blouse the first time around. This time I caught the sales just right and came away with a jacket, a shell with lace trim, and some funky earrings.

As much as I love my job, it is wearing me out. My heart is going out of rhythm a lot these days (atrial arrhythmia), and I believe a lot of my palpitations are stress-induced. I've had this before, but it is much worse now. I've cut out all caffeine- even chocolate (sob!)- as it sends my heart pitter-pattering away. I have no other symptoms besides the palpitations, but I do need to have a check-up and deal with this... another doctor's appt... sigh...

So, D1 is off to the Bahamas already... Drat! I missed sending a bon voyage..

Kimberly- OMG You could have been writing about me when you expressed how you're feeling these days. ((Hugs)) I don't have a remedy, but I'm thankful to have a safe place to come and express what I'm feeling and have someone who will understand. Hang in there (and I will too!).

Carol- quite the chef these days, eh? Your meals sound yummy! How like your wonderful self to reach out to Muriel and help ease her puppy loss. I love that about you! Glad Zach's sessions are going well.

Cathy- looking forward to hearing about your weekend walking adventure. Hope the weather was beautiful and the feet were up to the challenge!

Kathy- 2 jobs, birthday parties, budding artists, swim lessons, friends with cancer... I'm ready for bed just reading about all of it. I'm reminded of what a true SHERO you are, going through all of this with little ones. Glad you were able to get your beach house secured for the family vacation next year!

Julie- sounds like a wise plan to get the house listed with a neutral party. It does sound like the delay might have been good- allowed you to re-think where you want to move. Congrats to ds on those wonderful grades AND on landing a part in the play, even if it isn't the lead role. His time in the spotlight will come!

CHJ- great pictures! You were definitely in the PINK there. Glad you had fun.

Sherry- more great pics! I'm sorry your family wasn't able to join you, but glad you went ahead and enjoyed yourself. Hope you have a good week at work!

Carla- how are the fall colors up there? Our colors have peaked and the trees will probably start shedding their leaves this week. Haven't rescheduled our WVU visit yet, but will be getting that done this week- I'm looking at the week of November 10-15.

Better get back to the laundry (last load). Wish you all a wonderful week.

Happy Monday,

So it looks like Sis Kimberly opened the can of worms. I've also been banging my head against the "things just aren't quite right" band wagon. I actually feel somewhat relieved to see that it is not just me, although I'm not too thrilled that any of us are having to cope with yet another set of issues. This so-called "new norm" rather sucks at this point. I realize that its common to have these feelings, and with time they should fade away, but in the present its kinda tough.

I as well try to be "upbeat", especially when asked "how you doing"???, I don't think many people would really be able to relate if I told them how I was "really" doing. It would be like do you have an hour, and do you really care ??? I personally think about the chances of a reoccurence, I try not to dwell on it, but it is in the back of my mind. My joints ache, I hobble about after sitting for even a short time, my inner arm is numb and funky feeling, my elbows are very tender after I golf, I'm missing a boob (yes my choice), I want to cry at the drop of a hat, and I have zero libido which in turn makes me feel stressed and I know is even harder on my dh (thank god we have had a strong relationship for the past 10 years). Yes, I'm thankful that I am cancer free, but I really miss not feeling the way I did 13 months ago. I'm so with you Sis Kimberly, I feel like I've physically aged 10 years in the past 12 months. My gyn did remind me that most women also go through menopause over the course of many years. Personally I was slammed into it at a high rate of speed, and I believe that you we're as well. Our bodies are struggling to try and figure out what the heck hit um !!!

Over the past few months I may have sounded like I was full of energy, but honestly its been a battle. I certainly could be very content to come home after work and totally vegetate. I'm hoping that I will be able to keep the mindset to continue with some type of exercise routine, and of course the Yoga. Other than that, I'm still holding on to the thought that this too shall pass. I just hope it doesn't take too long.

Okay, now I feel better, as I was typing this I did actually think to myself, "self, maybe you need to go have a chat with a mental health professional". That will definitely not be out of the question if my mental mood doesn't brighten up a bit.

Oh, back to you Kimberly, I cannot even imagine reliving this journey with a love one right now. My hat is off to you gal.

The great washcloth story was Kathy's as I recall.

Did you get the chance to hit some balls ??? I golfed yesterday with some friends, left the house with shorts on at 8:00am, seemed warm enough in the garage, just about froze my butt right off. Ended up being a nice day, but chilly with the breeze.

Paula, so heart palpitations ... if what I had years ago we're those, that's a nasty feeling. Things must be not so good if your cutting out the chocolate. I would have to say that after I ranted about how shitty I've been feeling, you have definitely had more than your share of stress in comparison. I'm glad that you will be getting yourself checked out ... right?

Cathy, you sound good to go for your walk. I know at this point I was more concerned about packing my duffle bag then the actual walk. You may be on to something with this staying in a hotel gig !!!

Lastly, I had a real nice visit yesterday with my friend (Debra) here in Poulsbo who is doing CMF chemo as well. We shared many of our feelings, hence the timing of Kimberly's remarks. Poor gal though, here she assumed that she would not lose her hair (as most CMFer's don't), well she is down to almost nothing left with one more month to go. I know that she was rather disappointed to be in that small percentage of people on CMF to lose so much.

Tomorrow its off to the local surgeon to discuss port removal.

Okay, putting on my big girl panties and leaving for Yoga. I can really use the stretches tonight.

Be well my friends, Carol

Just me again, back from Yoga ... yep my mind was going 100mph.  So much for the relaxation portion of the hour !!!   The stretching was beneficial though.   I was thinking how although I would prefer not to bitch and moan about myself ... I did ... and then I thought, you know who else could REALLY relate ???  Not my husband, kids, family, closest friends, and the men I spend the better part of 8 hours with a day ... it would be the gals I've relied on for the past 10 months to help with the ups and downs.  Its easy to read in a book that "its normal" to feel this way, and another thing to have those you have shared so much with reaffirm it.  Make sense ???

So Kathy, how'd the big day go Sunday.  As I look at the pic of Zach and I on the bedroom wall, he's probably 3 in the pic ... now those we're some fun times !!! 

Deb, so I missed it but the author to "The Middle Place" was right here in my back yard.  I had not heard about it (not much advertising I guess) and my friend Debra brought the book to my house yesterday to share her story with me.  Debra didn't ask me to attend, at the time she was feeling really lousy from an infusion and did not even want to go herself.  Her work colleagues encouraged her to go, and when she got there she was singled out of the crowd and ended up chatting with the author after the presentation.  I was bummed I had missed the opportunity, but I did order the book. 

Night Again !

Carol, Kimberly, Paula ... I know exactly how you all feel. Carol, I think I could have written your second paragraph above. It hits the nail right on the head in every aspect.

The joint thing is particularly aggravating. My onc says not to blame the Herceptin, and I guess if you (and others) are suffering joint issues, maybe it IS late side effects/after effects from chemo itself. But for me, it was like a switch flipped ... one day my joints were fine, then bam, joint pain, right around the time I started rads. Crazy. I just fear it isn't going to get better. I flash back to my mother, who practically didn't leave the house for the last 10 years of her life ... she had weight issues, but mostly she had debilitating arthritis in her knees and ankles. I just fear that the treatments have pushed me onto that path ... a path I so don't want to be on ....

Emotionally, I too, worry much about recurrence. A couple of weeks ago I had some pain in the rib under my right breast. I wondered if perhaps it was from mowing the lawn ... toyed with the notion that it was rads related ... but obsessed over bone mets. Yeah. Bone mets. Here I'm still getting treatments, and I'm obsessing over bone mets. The onc noticed my darker mood the last time I had an appointment. He said, "You don't think the cancer is coming back, do you?" Well duh. I said,"You're the doc, you tell me." He said he didn't think it would, but that's what they say, you know. They want us to move on and live our lives free of fear. But they don't know if it's coming back. One onc. said as much in an article I was reading about the war on cancer. He said, "We tell them we got it all and send them on their way and tell them not to worry. What else are we going to do?" 

That's it. We worry about it, and just try to walk the walk of a normal life, and hope our emotions will snap into place as we go about the motions of "normal." Other survivors say it gets better. But I don't think they're like me. Me, I'm an obsessor.