Hi friends- just a quick note before I blast of town tomorrow for the week. I hope everyone here has some nice plans for the holiday this week. Whether you are traveling, staying home, cooking or being fed, I hope your day is peaceful and your weekend is relaxing!

For those of you in treatment, I was between surgery recovery and rads this time five years ago and kept things really simple, so you do the same too. It is the only way to get through this busy time of the year and take good care of yourselves so you get through all you need to do. There will be more holidays waiting for you celebrate next year too. Sometimes it is hard to see that when you are in the throes of it......

Super busy weekend with my music performance. We had a dress rehearsal and some pre-set up on Sat, then a very full day with moving equipment, playing, being at the gig for hours, and then break down and moving equipment back out. My back is talking to me today for sure with all the things I am trying to get done before I leave for the next week. The performance was a great success and went to enjoy some vino afterwards with some friends who are in the group with me. Nice weekend of music, friends and fun!

Heading out to Texas tomorrow to spend the holiday with friends this year and be in touch when I get and settled next week!

Jazzy,

Have such a wonderful trip and a happy turkey day along with everyone else.

Good evening, good morning everyone

I'm sitting up, so tired and yet I can't sleep. Ugh! Had my 2nd round today. Either I wasn't paying attention OR the second round was different. I felt awesome and then literally 10 minutes after red devil, the color drained from my face. My mom noticed. It was slight, but it almost looked like a I used a different filter when I took these before and after pictures. Fun week ahead but we are getting ahead of the constipation and the heartburn this time.

Here are the before and after pics...so funny to me at the difference. Ah well, I have the week essentially off as the doc says it's pretty much going to be the same, it's just about trying to lessen the worst of it so I'm not going to the ER and feeling as good as I can. I'm okay with that. And I just schedule other appointments in the same week. Counseling and another MUGA...lovely.

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Twofer Tuesday! Did you know that today is National Stuffing Day? Not sure why it's 3 days before Thanksgiving, who knows. Ah, now they are talking about every kind of stuffing out there--stuffed peppers, baked stuffed haddock, stuffed pork chops, all kinds of stuffing. Crazy the stuff they come up with on this news show in the mornings. Looking forward to the Thanksgiving morning show, they always cook a dinner in the studio during the show, and it's sometimes successful, sometimes not, and always fun and funny to watch. There are usually 3 of them, the weather man, and a male and female anchor, but this year the female is off this week. So it will just be the guys, so it should be even funnier than usual.

OK, running late, going to poop off now, will be back tomorrow or this evening.

Sandy, most of what we watch on tv is what we have recorded. I remember the days when I did stay up late. Heck, I can remember not even leaving the house until like 9 pm to go out clubbing with a girlfriend.

Jazzy girl, yet again, you have such kind words for everyone. Sounds like your weekend was wonderful and now to spend a wonderful time in TX. Enjoy, and safe travels.

Karen, you mentioned the girls in the wedding could pick out their own dress, but everyone would be in the same color. Does that mean the dresses will all be made with the same material, or just a wine color in general, so there will be variations of the color? I believe you said wine color. Yep, you did…in your last post. The dresses look beautiful as well as the gals. As for pictures, I usually just go back a couple days later, after everyone has had a chance to see them, and delete them. Again, hoping this treatment is easier on you than the last one. And after the next one, you have one left of AC.

NM, what morning show are you talking about? Or is it a local news station? I think you are going to moms for TG dinner? Is Ms. Sadie going with?

Finishing up cleaning and laundry today, see onc tomorrow, so not sure I'll be checking in. Been trying hard to stay out of the wabbit hole. But I have my moments, yes I do!

I found this and right straight away I thought of a couple of loungettes, can you guess who?

Good morning friends- just another quick note before I get going to my day and flight later.

Chi- I agree about performances and am dosing up on Vit C now and because I am getting on a plane today too. My back is feeling better after being flat for awhile in bed. I won't say I slept great though because the winds were up last night and banging things around last night. But I may get a chance for a nap today before I go.

Karen- wow, what a reaction with the color draining from your face. I guess they don't call it the "red devil" for nothing? I hope you can push through this next one. Focus on one at a time.

I was in a large wedding once with 9 attendants and it can be really hard to deal with trying to get everyone to agree on a bridesmaid dress. The friend of that time was trying to get us to agree on something we all wanted (like when is that ever going to happen), but in the end, she had them made by someone who screwed them all up. I ended up getting fitted in the wrong dress and then when it came to wedding day, the dresses were all a mess. The bride was in tears and said we would pin our way through the issues and make sure she had a good day. That was like 30 years ago and think in this day and age, people have figured out one style does not fit all and to allow women to choose a style that works really makes it do-able. I like the off the shoulder ones in your post the best. And good job on enjoying some tasty food and margs as well!

Goldie- I see Cami is back on the pole again. Or is that Chevy......

BTW, be aware of this phone scam you might see on your cell phone. Someone calls (the number did not come up market as spam) but you answer, then they hang up and start texting you. Dude saying we know each other from Linked In (not) and look forward to being business partners. Looking forward to stealing my money is more like it. For me, my cell phone is my biz phone and may be true for a few of you self employed types so be aware. Number is blocked.

https://www.inc.com/joseph-steinberg/do-not-return...

Then I had some woman message me about investing in some gold this am too, and told her I don't accept spam and to move along please. The person writes back they are the same person. So thanks for outing yourself! If you have a Linked In account, be on alert. They are busy out there this holiday week!

Happy Thanksgiving one mo time!

Jazzy, not sure which one is on that pole, as I think they are both guilt

Karen, go get that nap!

Karen, I compared both photos, and noticed all the colors in the second photo (not just your skin) are duller and surfaces appear slightly darker. Does the chemo suite have windows? If so, when the second photo was taken a cloud may have been passing. If not, sometimes lights (especially fluorescent) can flicker imperceptibly and often the difference is apparent only after the fact in a photo. I don't doubt that the Adriamycin caused the color to drain from your face, because blood "migrating south" from the face & head towards the lungs to be re-oxygenated is a common reaction to extreme stress. (The Red Devil is the poster child for stress).

I've had to be a bridesmaid only twice, thank goodness. First was at 14 as a jr. bridesmaid for an older cousin's (first) wedding. (The other jr. bridesmaids were my 12-yr-old sister and a first cousin just a year younger than me), I recall having to wear stockings and Queen Anne heels dyed to match the dresses (which were custom-made). We also had to wear short white kid gloves (which I recall got permanently water-stained from our bouquets). Second time was my college best friend's wedding--just the maid of honor & me, in identical pine green velvet long gowns. I got a lot of mileage out of that gown for a few years. After that came my own wedding. I decided I wanted my color scheme to be hot pink & navy. My dad had an "in" at Pandora in NYC's garment district, and the bridesmaid dresses were presented as an ensemble with my wedding gown (high-necked white peau with leg-o-mutton sleeves, Venise lace and seed pearls--remember, this was 1971, when strapless wedding dresses would have been considered undecorous). The bridesmaid dresses were Empire-waisted and offered in several colors. My bridesmaids were both petite (in frame & stature--one of them was the aforementioned best friend, the other the aforementioned first cousin), so they got to wear hot pink. The maid of honor was my kid sister--who towered over me by at least 2 inches (we're nearly the same height now, thanks to age) and had more than a few pounds to spare. Hence the navy, which was elegant & slimming...and enabled her to use it twice more. The bride's family paid for all the bridesmaid dresses back then (my folks paid for my bridesmaids' dresses and Bob's parents paid for the groomsmen's formal wear--striped pants, morning coats and bowler hats. Can you tell I was heavily into etiquette and Brides' mag. at the time)? I would never have chosen my bridesmaids' dresses if they'd have had to buy them themselves--I would have dictated only color and length and trusted their tastes.

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Day Before Turkey Day! Sadie and I are going to Mom and Dick's today, I'm going to activate her new phone and see if I can get the data transferred from the old on to the new one. MOm doesn't know it yet but she's going to have an online account set up for her phone and probably a G-mail account as well. She and Dick use an email service run by a friend of theirs, and it's constantly not working, usually because of things Mom does when she is on the computer. She will check any box that pops up without reading what it's about and ends up with all kinds of stuff she doesn't need. Then she gets my brother to clean out her computer. But since he's moved further away I've gotten the calls for help with the phone issues. She just got done setting up Dick's Jitterbug phone, that whole process took them a couple of weeks of phone calls and going back and forth. But she got it done, so good for her! Anyway, Sadie and I wll get a nice visit it and a free lunch, so should be a good day.

Now, on to ketchuping!

Chi--gotta love the way the weather can get cold or wet or just miserable just when we want it to be nice. Of course, if we could control the weather most everyone would still be unhappy since nobody every really agrees on stuff like that!

Jazzy--Have a great trip and a wonderful Thanksgiving! Glad the performance went so well and the gathering afterwards sounds like it was a great time, too!

Chi--keeping up with hydration and rest is a very important thing to do this time of year. My go-to for this kind of thing is chicken broth with lots of garlic. Tomorrow I'm making up a batch of turkey broth with loads of garlic to have on hand. Too bad garlic and Vit C and such doesn't help with back issues.

Karen--wow, that stuff hit you hard! That's quite a change in color. Glad the dress shopping was successful and fun, and glad you had a good night out with your guest. And I wouldn't be too quick to blame the alcohol for the liver function test changes, usually you need to drink quite heavily for weeks to months before liver damage starts, but the liver damage from toxic drugs like chemotherapy starts almost immediately. Of course, the 2 together is a bit of stress on the ol liver, but you gotta live a life, or why bother with treatment in the first place? Those are beautiful dresses on some beautiful ladies! I can picture them all in the same wine color. That's going to make an awesomely lovely picture! I haven't heard of personal attendants before, is that like a junior bridesmaid? Or are these adults? How is a personal attendant different from a Bridesmaid? And yes, it's your wedding, you can have whatever you want as long as it's legal and the groom is ok with it.

Goldie--Yes, the morning show is the morning news on a local TV channel. The show comes on at 4:30 am (not that I see the beginning of it except VERY rarely) and runs until 7 am. At 7 am I need to be off the computer and getting dressed and out of the house for work. Been listening to this newscast in the ayems for years and years now, so I guess it's just part of my routine. I can remember when the female achor was pregnant, now both her boys are in school. Mom and Dick are going to Dick's son's for T-day dinner tomorrow, Mom is making a T-day dinner for us on Friday. So Sadie and I will be going to Mom and Dick's today and Friday.

Love the pole dancing bunny!!!

Karen--sorry you are having trouble sleeping. I remember having a lot of trouble sleeping during surgery and rads, mostly due to stress. I napped when I could and that helped. This will get better as treatment goes on and begins to feel more like a routine.

Jazzy--Can you sleep on the plane? I try to sleep when I fly if the flight is any length at all. I like to take my Kindle and listen to an audiobook while I snooze. But that's not for everyone. I do worry about what I'm being exposed to when in a plane. Or in an airport. And then I tell myself that it's no worse than my going into nursing homes and assisted living facilities on a regular basis. Oh, boy, that bridesmaid dress story is horrible! That poor Bride! I can imagine I would be in tears, too. I'm glad you could all "pin it together" and make a good day for the Bride. That's real friendship and love in action. That's good scam info. I don't answer calls if I don't recognize the number. If it's a legit call the person will leave a message and identify themselves.

Goldie--that is one crazy clip!!!

Chi--Etiquette is a fascinating thing. I have several etiquette books written in the 1890's and early 1900's and love reading through them. Some mention in the wedding etiquette section that a bride may purchase or help purchase the bridesmaid dress for a bridesmaid of "limited circumstances" or whose family is in mourning. And it was acceptable for a young woman in mourning to be a bridesmaid, but she needed to wear a more muted color than the rest of the bridesmaids, and did not wear black that one day. I've always been most fascinated by the etiquette surrounding death and mourning.

LOL Chevy!!!!!!!

Dances with Hornets' DOTD:

Turkey and Sage Cocktail

Ingredients
20 fresh sage leaves
4 ounces Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
2 tablespoons pumpkin butter (see note above)
1/2 ounce lemon juice, from one lemon
4 dashes Angostura bitters

Directions
1. Reserve two sage leaves for garnish and muddle the rest gently in a cocktail shaker.

2. Fill the shaker with ice. Add bourbon, pumpkin butter, lemon juice, and bitters. Shake until well-chilled, about 20 seconds.

3. Strain evenly into two coupe glasses and float a sage leaf on top of each drink.

ED, I wasn't insinuating ANYTHING. The two of you have, in one way or another, admitted to pole dancing or commenting on the other one for their skills, or lack there of!!!!! Hope it brought you a smile! Ha ha, love the kitty at The PussyCat Lounge.

NM, electronics can be hard for those of us that use them all the time, let alone an elderly person that doesn't have a clue. I love it when I see someone who looks to be 80, using an iPhone, texting, ect. LOL, telling Karen to have whatever she wants, it's her wedding "as long as it's legal". We are doing dinner here on Friday as well.

Sandy, you hair got so tangled in the jeep that you had to get it cut?

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. But I got to say, I give thanks for you guys here…EVERYDAY!

Says Porky Gobbler!

From Jazzy on FB. The funniest one someone shared about their DH was he was "Miserable Cock"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING y'all!  Now miss Goldie.....  It's just that Cammi and I sort of have this gregarious reputation which somehow transfers our actions and intentions into something entirely inappropriate for whichever mood we are in....  (That reminds me of letters I used to write my Mom and Dad....  you know.... before computers and phones.... etc.....  WELL, I would use words that probably didn't exist!  They didn't mean anything but reading this mish-mosh of meaningless babble was just so funny to us! And the time I wrote them about all of us women being pregnant, and we had no clue who the fathers were, or where we were going to live after our twins were born, because our Husbands had left us after the flood!) 

Cammi, don't even try and answer, or figure it out... cause even I don't know what I just said.

See now, you goils.... I am 80...  You just dropped your phone?  Or I-pad?  Hah...  But Cammi is even older... I think she is 90 or somewhere around there...  But now you know just how much fun you can have when you reach out age... ages.....  See, no-one listens to us anymore...  and we don't care...  We just look at them like....  "Are you nuts?"  

Okay now....  I had better go dust off the Turkey, and see what I can do with the thing....  Yes... I'm still cooking Thanksgiving Dinner, for us & a couple of my Daughter's friends.....  Been doin' this for 60 years now...  Just like my Grandma and my Mom did.  We HAVE to do it...  we loved to do it, and as long as I can, by golly, I'll do it!

Love you guys! xoxo  Ed

ChiSandy,

Yeah we are paying for everything, Kevin and I, so the dresses are not happening. lol! With this and the wedding it's feeling overwhelming, but I don't want to put it off. This is what I've always wanted and especially since the proposal.

Hopefully you are right about the pictures, my mom didn't feel it darkened outside, but it could have been the light thing. Just thinking of it makes me queezy. Ugh.

I know there was a question on Personal Attendants. I'm not really sure what the difference is except helping to prepare and take care of other things I guess. In essence they really do end up being the same thing, but it's this weird position to fill, I guess. Generally the PAs won't wear a dress to match, but bah...doing what I want.

I'm so tired today and heartburn is off and on awful, but constipation is better...nausea worse. Trying to find balance, but feeling like I just want to do long term once the weekly taxol starts. For many reasons, but I just feel it's a lot of pressure.

It was my 40th birthday yesterday and we had a head shaving party as my hair was definitely coming out more in the morning, so I wanted to get ahead of it. My daughter did watch and I gave her the option. I just didn't want to surprise her with a bald head.

Well I need a nap I think, so I'll be back later.

Goldie, when I took that Jeep ride in 1998 from our hotel in Gilbert to the desert, we were going so fast and my shoulder-length hair was whipping around every which way. When we got back to the hotel, I found that the ends were so tangled & knotted that I couldn't brush through—had to use fingers and the widest detangling comb the gift shop had. Even so, as careful as I was, I had multiple small breakages. My hairstylist back home kept cutting aff the split ends, but I ended up losing about 4" off the bottom.

Kim, a Brazilian Blowout is the trademark name for a form of keratin straightening treatment. Unlike Japanese thermal straightening (which is chemical and, like a perm, alters the molecular structure of the hair shaft), a keratin treatment deposits liquid keratin (the protein of which hair is composed) on to the freshly-shampooed wet hair shaft. A flatiron is used to work the keratin into the hair's cuticle, which is an outer layer of what looks like overlapping shingles under magnification. A naturally straight hair will have a smooth cuticle but a frizzy one will have the shingles splayed out like the branches of a Christmas tree. Ironing on the liquid keratin smooths the shingles and at the same time seals the cuticle. Then the hair is blown dry. With the Brazilian Blowout treatment, the hair is washed and conditioned again but with shampoo & conditioner that is sodium chloride-and-sulfate free, and then styled as usual. Because the treatment is by then “fully-set," you can (theoretically) put your hair up, tie it back, sweat (in moderation), and even wash it again the next day.

Rival treatments skip that final shampoo, so the hair remains malleable for at least the next 72 if not 96 hours; so no barrettes, clips, ponytails, sweating or otherwise getting your hair wet until it has fully “taken." This can be a problem if you get caught in rain or snow; and wind can also cause tangles because the cuticle isn't completely sealed yet. The Brazilian takes longer and costs a bit more, but lasts 3-4 months, as opposed to anywhere from 6 weeks-3 months for the simpler treatment. The downside to both is that heating the keratin can release fumes that are akin to formaldehyde, a bit more so for the Brazilian.But powerful ventilation, eye protection, and for the stylist, a face mask because of repeated exposure, mitigate that. The problem with sweating is that sweat contains sodium chloride, which can partially dissolve the keratin. So I get the Brazilian so I can put my hair up off my neck when sleeping or exercising in the days before I first shampoo it myself. (I also keep the bedroom cool for good measure). With the other treatment, you run the risk of kinking the hair with clips, barrettes or elastics in those first 3-4 days. All you can do is use a silk scarf to loosely tie it back—but the scarf is likely to slip off. They even suggest sleeping in a silk satin pillowcase to reduce friction—but that doesn't “breathe" like cotton and can actually make the scalp perspire.

With either treatment I have to be very careful that the shampoo and conditioner I use have neither sulfates nor sodium chloride. A lot of “sulfate-free” shampoos, even some advertised as safe for keratin-treated hair or (even containing keratin), still have sodium chloride. I read labels very carefully and never use free hotel shampoo unless I have gone online to check the ingredients. It can be a PITA to bring my own in travel bottles (or buy travel-size “safe” shampoos), but it’s worth it

NM, funny about "the ways" elderly can be. Your mom and paying the phone. My MIL won't put a bill in her mailbox, she has to take it right to the post office.

ED, you are not 80 up in dis lounge! Nuh uh, I won't have it. My favorite word and it's one of Cami's, is reCOCKulous!

Karen, what do you mean by doing long term when weekly Taxol starts. Sorry you are feeling so yucky. Just hang in there, I think you end up feeling better in a few days, right? I spent my 50^th getting chemo, not much of birthday gift, is it?

Sandy, is that an all day ordeal when you get all of that done to your hair?

Just pulled a breakfast casserole out of the oven. Then I need to work on getting the turkey in there next!

Happy Birthday Karen. They made a mistake on your cake and put Judy. I didn't want to wait for them to change it. Cake is cake right?

Be right back, I see NM in the pewl. Gonna go and grab her and pull her up the swim up bar here!

Thank you for the cake Goldie! It's awesome! I mean long term disability. It is really starting to feel overwhelming, especially with all the financial stuff and you guys know. I feel like I just need to get through this and figure it out later. But Bankruptcy is looking more and more like a necessity already, which really blows, but what can you do? We live pay check to pay check and make too much for financial assistance.

You would think this stuff would be enough. Oh well.

We had a great birthday, even though it was my tired days. And had a quiet family night and then head shaving.

NM,

Okay, I tried to find the question again and I couldn't find it. So frustrating. Yeah I don't really know all the ins and outs, just what I have seen..lol! So confusing. Luckily, most of this wedding stuff was already paid for or free from family (meaning donating a dish toward the reception or their kids used wedding decorations). Has made this process easier somewhat. I appreciate the well wishes. Part of my feelings besides genuine heart burn and constipation, may be shaving my head and fear of doing too much and making things worse. I'm sure a lot of it is in my head.

ChiSandy,

Thanks for the new 25...that would be great.

My plan for next week is to go over all the financial stuff during my lunch breaks and really try to figure out the best course of action. My work is also super stressful and yet another reason probably not a good idea to be there during busy season besides how I'm feeling.

And now part of me would like a cocktail by the following weekend when I know I'll be feeling better. lol!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

All cooking stories sound awesome. I can't wait for next year when I can do my second thanksgiving ever...cooking for it. I did it for the first time last year for just the fiance and I...full spread like we had 6 or more. It was a fun stress that I would love to repeat. Maybe I can figure out the christmas treats on my good week next month.