APRIL Rads Anyone?

Bette-Sounds like you have found your soul mate! Bless you!

Bette

  Sending you lots of good vibes and prayers!  Keep the faith!

We are holding on to the B9 and praying mightily.  Have a great time in Lancaster County - a great place.  Will you see a play at Sight and Sound?

I guess it's been a bit since I stopped in, didn't think it had been so long, but what a lot of posts!

My stepsons are here from college and am getting my daughter ready to leave for China on Friday!  It has been a bit busy around here, seems like I have been running for a while now....

Bette- Even though I haven't been here, you have been in my thoughts. I am glad to hear that you and Tom are taking a trip this coming weekend. Taking some time to get away from life a little bit and get caught up in yourselves instead of everything else going on daily. Because of my back and my ability to travel without being in pain, my husband and I haven't been on a trip in over a year now. But I remember how great it was to go someplace different (usually somewhere we could hike or see something scenic) and just spend time together, no phones, no tv, gave us time to reconnect romantically too. I'm finding myself missing those times a lot these days. I hope you are able to forget things for a little while and just appreciate the little things together. 

And eat more ice cream!  lol It has healing powers ya know....

Am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. I sent about 1500 pictures to Walmart.com a couple months ago (wasn't pleased with the colors in the prints btw..), I had put some of them into photo album sleeves but then discovered Walmart had missed printing quite a few pics. So I stopped and had to go back through all the pics to see what was missed. I still had tons of pics I had to upload to be printed and finally got that all done, Snapfish.com for .09 a print. I could have done it at a kiosk at the drug store, but we're talking 1300 pictures here. So now I am trying to organize them all and get them into the photo albums. Our Hawaii trip was most of this last batch to be printed. Luckily I had gone online using the materials we had been given shortly after we got back and typed up where the pictures were taken, so at least I wouldn't forget that. We went a year ago in April now..yikes. I can barely lift the two photo albums I got them all into (expandable with 12 photos to a sheet, 12x12 binders).

But what I am having trouble with is all the other pictures that aren't trips. I haven't printed pics since I went digital, basically since their dad and I divorced, and I have so many years of photos of the kids in school for concerts and Halloween parades, and horseback riding lessons, camp, baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, you get the idea?  lol   I am having a very tough time trying to get them into some type of chronological order so I can get them in the albums! I have pictures spread all over the place, I have China stuff all over the place...my bedroom looks like a cyclone hit it and has for weeks now. Everytime I sit here and try to do some more, I just get frustrated! lol   It is so much fun to look back at the pics of when the kids were younger though.

I think after the boys leave this week I will haul them downstairs to my dining room table where I have room to actually spread them out and have the kids help me if they can. I at least know some years as they only played soccer once or twice, I kept the rosters thank god, so I can work from that I hope lol  After I get them sorted to the best of my guessing, it won't take too long to get them into the sleeves.

I will say I am very thankful I got the pictures printed though, as I lost all my jpegs off my computer somehow (I'm sure my son's downloading had something to do with it...boy was I pe-ood). It took me two months to get all those pictures uploaded to my computer from the floppy disks (my original digital took floppies) and from the memory cards from the newer digital camera, and to organize them into folders. I also collect Dept56 and I had pictures saved for my inventory that I lost as well, we're talking a couple hundred of these as I have been collecting for almost 20 years. I have started to rebuild the folders, but I am afraid there are some pictures I will never find again. This time I have a back up drive. But it all takes time...I could kill my son! I guess I don't understand what part of "do not download anything to my computer" he cannot come to grasp within his small mind! lol His has been on the fritz for a while now...no wonder lol

Well time to relax and read a little I think. I feel better now...or I will when I get away from the sight of all these pictures surrounding me! Night ladies!

Bette - I will be sending up some mighty prayers for you over the next couple days.  My DH and I have seen a couple shows at Sight and Sound and we loved them.  DH and I went away for the weekend to Mystic, CT.  I've been planning it for a couple of weeks and I just surprised him and said, "We're packed, we're going."  It gave us some time to talk about things we haven't talked about in months.  Like most men, my husband cannot handle things he cannot fix and he can't fix me.  He told me that part of him died when I was diagnosed last summer because it was something he couldn't fix and there was nothing he could do to help me.  Helpless is not a feeling my husband embraces (do any of us?).  Nevertheless, he has been by my side for almost as long as I can remember and we've been married for 26 years.  Sometimes, we get complacent and then something like this happens and we forget how to handle it.

Bette - Please let us know as soon as you are able.

• Caroline, I am glad that I met and married Tom, too! Last night he was off, and we ordered pizza and spent time relaxing and talking. I am not as stressed now that I know when things are going to happen.
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Marienet, Thank you. I am looking forward to the trip. Today Tom and I took a break by going to the pool and sitting together by water's edge. I went swimming, and it was a little chilly but good exercise.

Bette 

Marienet, I am not having hot flashes. Instead, I am cold all the time. Tom likes the AC on, and I am sitting there wrapped in a blanket. Before BC, I liked my AC cold, but not anymore. The only way I managed to swim was because it was a hot day, and I could get out of the pool and warm myself in the sun.

Tom just left for work, so now I can have the apartment warm until he gets home tomorrow morning.

Bette 

Ummmmmmmmmm, homemade chocolate ice cream.  May have to plan another party!

As well you should!  We here all know how very short life can be and it makes sense to take time to enjoy ourselves.  Tomorrow is not promised to us. 

Please pass the cones (waffle for me please!)

There are lots of sorbets and granitas and other fruity treats in the ice cream recipe book I have. I'm sure you can enjoy a cold, low sugar treat.

As for me, pass the chocolate ice cream, nuts, maraschino cherries and whipped cream!

Bette 

Jane, it is next Wednesday at 1 PM at Johns Hopkins. My consult with the pulmonary specialist is at 2:30 PM on Tuesday. We are leaving Saturday for a "second honeymoon" in Lancaster County so I don't know how much I will be on the computer until we get home.

Looking forward to the weekend.

Bette 

Bette, have a great weekend with Tom.