2005 ROCK-TOBER CHEMO GIRLS

More on Dream Dinners:

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At our Store

Upon arrival
The only thing we suggest you bring is a cooler or boxes to pack your completed meals in. When you arrive at the store, grab an apron and prepare to enjoy yourself. Our assistants will help you get started with a brief orientation.

Assemble your dinners
Assembling your dinners is fun and easy. Assembly stations are organized so that guests rotate from one to the next. Each station has all the ingredients needed for a particular meal, from main ingredients to sauces to seasonings. Easy-to-follow instructions are posted, all the ingredients are precut, and appropriate measuring cups and spoons are provided. Scoop or pour ingredients into Ziploc bags or baking pans that we provide. It’s that simple.

Once assembled
Stow your assembled dinners in your personal storage area which we provide. There you’ll find cooking instructions for your selections that you can affix to each plastic bag or baking pan. Once you’ve finished assembling your dinners, pack them into your cooler or box for the ride home. Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll take care of all the clean up.

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Hi All!

I have been to Dream Dinners & Dinner's Ready. Whoever came up with the idea and actually followed thru with it is probably a millionaire today. It is a big thing here in Seattle. Lots of different companies are doing it!

Amy - I want to see the design for your tattoo - I am still serious about getting one myself and have been thinking about the pink ribbon with a trail of flowers, but the pink elephant is a really good idea too. Would anyone be interested in going with me for a tattooo while we are in Chicago???

Well, I have to run for now. Have to turn my transfer request into my boss who just got here. YIKES! She is not going to be happy....

Have a good day all!

It's been three weeks since my mastectomy and expander placement and I'm feeling great! In fact, I feel a little guilty about being off work, but I just wait a few minutes and that feeling goes away! LOL

I'm very lucky that my workplace has very generous short-term disability benefits. I want to get at least one chemo treatment under my belt before going back to work. I start weekly carboplatin/taxol on May 25.

I've found a thread of folks who are getting carboplatin/taxotere/herceptin, so that's been good. Even though I won't be getting the herceptin, it still gives me some idea of what to expect. I've also started posting on the May starters thread and boy, do I feel smart! (Ha!) Most of them are getting AC/Taxol so I've been able to provide some advice.

I still always check in with my elephant sisters, though!

Whew, finally caught up on all the posts. You sure can chat girls!!
I am still on hospital time so woke up at 7 am today. So much for being able to rest up and relax!
My mum is coming today. I am pretty mobile by now, but i still cant move well enough to cook and clean ... well its my story and i am sticking to it! hehehe

loved everyone's pics.
V. - i absolutely love Hawaii. One of my fav places for holidays - beach, shopping, what more can a girl want?!
Amy, I cant believe how long your hair is now.
Laura - you and your hubby are looking as cute as ever.

Cindy, i am so sorry you have to do chemo again... will you lose your hair? what other side effects are you expecting? i am thinking of you..

I have to say i am enjoying my Tamoxifen break. No joint pains, my hair stopped falling out AND i seemed to have lost some weight even with zero exercise. BUT of course i had to start on it again last night.
You know i had some amazing experiences in hospital. I was in a shared ward most of the time (4 people) and of course being bored out of my mind i had to get to know them.
There was a DIEP lady next to me, we got along great and will try to keep in touch. She is so happy with her new boob!!
There was an old lebanese lady in the other bed with a huge family, and one of her daughters in law turned out to be RUSSIAN!! So she brought me some much needed russian food.

The sad bit was seeing this other old lady with dementia, whose daughter turned up only once (Mothers day, no flowers or anything AND took some chocolates off the old dear that we've given her). It is terrible seeing all those lonely old people at the hospital whose families forgotten all about them..

Anyway, its nice to be back. I missed you all.
I noticed some talk about August get-together. I still cant say 100% if i can make it or not. The reality is, it will be an expensive trip, and i will try to get one of my friends to go with me so we can make it a proper holiday, like go to Hawaii or something on the way back.
I wish Australia wasnt so damn far from everywhere. But it takes a day to get to LA, and then more to come to Chicago.
I will try my best though.

well, back to doing nothing.. and it feels good.
love you all,
Paula

TracyNY, Boy, you are getting good and a fast learner I must say. Your bedroom look's really nice. I love the color of the wall's.

Amy..here is MY pink elephant with her buddy with the pink ribbon!

, lol Debbie! At each station there were 4 recipe cards, 2 on one side, 2 on the other. There was a total of 4 stations. Basically, they do the shopping for you and have the ingredients on hand for you to mix, etc. It was $124 for 6 meals so a bit pricey, although cheaper than eating out. I don't know anyone who actually does this consistently - it was a "fun" night out.

Cindy - I'm really happy that you're able to take this time off. NO guilt!! Take this time to pamper yourself - you certainly deserve it. I will be praying for you!! My sister just told me that her library has digital books on iPod-like-devices. That may be something else to look into. During weekly Taxol, I always just read until I was too loopy to read and then just fell asleep! The Benadryl would knock me out!
Paula - So neat to meet the Russian lady and how nice of her to bring you Russian food! Sounds like you met all kinds of people - it's so sad when the elderly are pushed aside!
TracyNY - you have such nice taste! The curtains turned out so nice!
Ok - off to kiss my dh bye, he'll be in Southern California until next Thursday,

I'm off to work but wanted to check in. Ravdeb, Love the elephants. I had an ivory elephant once my mother gave me that she brought back from Hong Kong and she told me to keep it for good luck. No wonder my luck is bad, I can't find it. What is the story behind that? To keep the truck facing the door or is it the tail? I forgot what she said.

Ravdeb, Sorry you are having problems again. I had a weird episode last night. I got up in the middle of the night and I couldn't walk my equilibrium was way off, dizzy, lightheaded you name it and I felt like I couldn't breath, very scary. I hope I am OK, I have to drive 35 miles to the job I have today and I feel OK now but still a little worried. Maybe I just got up too fast. I thought maybe I was dehydrated and I did have a glass of water and I was better after that so maybe that was it but I really thought that was the end for me and all that ran through my head was I am not ready I have too much to do.......lol

Will check in later, everyone have a nice day........cold here only in the 40's

I think the other thing about the dinners is that you get your whole week's worth of meals done all at once and it's fun in the process. I do cook several meals at once on Monday's and package them up for the week but that means I will have had to shop for those meals and then when you are making more than a meal at a time, your kitchen can get messy. It's just a convenience that's fun to do with your friends or if you go on your own, you meet others.

Boy, it's quiet today I hope that means everyone is out having fun.

V, I though about the BP and I did take it this morning and it was normal but who know's what it was in the middle of night by the time I took it I was having a panic attack....lol I have had something like that before and the doctor told me it was probably the crystal's in my middle ear. I think it could have something to do with my allergies. I go Monday so will bring it up to her again.

So, Michele and Cathy what are you doing for your birthday? I can't believe our birthday's are all in a row. Sun, Mon and Tuesday. Wish we lived closer so we could go out and celebrate. My friends are taking me out to lunch next week sometime which is always nice. Although, I am dieting so I won't be doing much eating......Hey, I wonder if that is why I was so lightheaded....low blood sugar. This body is used to having a ton of sugar.

My son from NYC is coming home for the weekend but if it's like the last time I probably won't see much of him. You know, he has to spend time with his friends........lol

Oh well, enough about me. Enjoy your weekend's

Hello my friends;
I've been following along with all of your doings.

Tadah: love your curtains and the bedroom. You are inspiring me to do something like this.

Laura: so sorry about the difficulties you encountered today. I too worry about the habitats that are disappearing.

Graycie: yikes! hope that was just a momentary disorientation the other night. Do you take a sleeping med? Maybe there was some unintended effect?

Happy birthday to come to you, Michele, and Cathy!!! I hope the day will be very happy for all of you.

Bet wishes to Cindy, Paula, Victoria, and Kelly who are continuing to heal well, I pray.

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I have not been writing much lately. My ability to do this at work has been severely curtailed. But, there is another reason. I have been slowly getting more and more depressed. I've self-diagnosed based on how I'm feeling and behaving. For several weeks now I've had a simmering anger, irritability, and almost rage, that is totally unlike me. I've controlled it (mostly) but have had 2 episodes at work where I've become so angry I could do nothing but go in the bathroom and cry. The other thing is that when I get home I withdraw from everything. I've missed church, friends, etc. This is not how I usually am so next week I will be seeing my doctor and asking for some pharmacological help. I have little energy but can still come to work and alot of random body aches. I just don't feel myself. Which is a bummer because usually in spring I really perk up and enjoy life. I believe maybe the loss of estrogen is hitting me hard in this way. Or at least I wonder if that is it.

I only told one friend about this and she is encouraging me to get help from my doctor. I know you all are sympathetic and caring. I feel grateful to have a place and way to discuss it a bit. I have not wanted to admit to this turn of events, but, well, that's what's going on.

Hope you all enjoy a lovely weekend. I am with my sister's dogs again this weekend. Perhaps slobbery kisses and wagging tails will be a comfort.

take care,
Mary

Hello my dear sisters….

Tonight I am very frustrated as our neighbour two doors over put their house on the market on Monday of this week and it now has a conditional offer on it subject to a home inspection….like argh….are we a tad jealous yes….as the house is an old war time home that needs to be completely redone inside and it sold in less than 1 week. It was listed at 10,000 less than ours, has a 1 acre versus our ½ acre and no real trees. The same people that put the offer in on that house saw our house the same night on Tuesday night. I told my dh and he was floored that it is conditionally sold. What are we doing wrong here?

The only difference may be the home was a bungalow even though its ancient and wood frame ours is a 2 storey brick with steep stairs. But gosh we have a brand new kitchen, new roof, a/c, newer laminate floor, a deck on the back…..

I guess the right buyer will come along I should be happy that the lady sold her home as she is going into a retirement home but why couldn’t it happen that quickly for us?

My vent for the night, now I feel better!

It is a long weekend here with Monday being the statutory holiday. I also turn a year older on Sunday – 43 woo hee! I feel much more happier celebrating my bday this year than last year. One year post chemo, have curly curly hair that I can now wear put my bangs back in a headband and the hair just all curls around it.

The weather this weekend is suppose to be pleasant, sunny and 17 degrees.

I am so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and Saturday and Sunday and Monday….

Amy – how do you wash your sleeve, just cold water and lay it to dry?

Laura – are you going to be the leopard skin sleeve, it would be a fashion statement but hard to match with any clothes except for black.

Tracyseattle – when you say transfer request, where are you going? Did my “chemo brain” miss something you said earlier? Any news on any of the job interviews that you went to?

Cindy – don’t feel guilty, allow yourself the time to recuperate and heal prior to starting chemo.

Gracyie – I have to have the Zoladex inplant injection once every 3 months for at least 2 years, it is more of an inconvience now than anything but also every expensive at $1262 per shot! My next one is Aug 29,I just use my lunch hour to cover off the time away from work.

That is scary out your balance problems. I too had a dizzy sleep shortly after my car accident but my GP attritruted it to a minor conconsion due to be knocked back and front when the car rear ended me. Sometimes ear problems can cause your balance to be off.

My dh and I will be going for dinner and then a movie on Sunday but maybe tomorrow instead as he has to be work days on Monday.

Is it your birthday too? What day?

Paula – glad to hear that you are able to move around a bit and that Mom is taking good care of you. Are you loosing a lot of hair from the Tamoxifen or is the Lupuron? Do hope you will be able to make the August get together, as you have to teach us to speak with an Australian accent.

TracyNy – what a fab job on the curtains! They go great with the colour scheme in the room.

Deb – love the pink elephant!

Mary – sweetheart I hope that you are able to get into your doctor and get the meds you need for your depression, there is hope. I started on celexa last April and I had never been on anything prior to bc put found it keeps me on an even keel but still allows me to express and validate my feelings.

Debbie444 – my birthday is on Sunday.

Linda – if you are reading this I;m sending warm thought out to your family for your sister’s recovery.

Have a super evening as my hotflash starts to hit me with another zinger…..

Enjoy your weekend if I don’t get a chance to get on here but probably will as I will miss you all too much, hee heeJ

Love
Michele

Mary..I'm raising my elephant trunk for you. I hope that your doctor can help you out. And I agree with Amy that it's good you are taking charge and realize you could use a bit of help on this one. I think our bodies have been through so much and then that darn estrogen issue...it's a wonder we aren't all cuckoo!

Gail...maybe you just had a drop in blood pressure for a short time. Hopefully it's nothing too serious.

Laura...I can relate to finding trees cut down. We have this problem in the town near us where they keep building where the olive trees are. The residents are fighting it. They want the olive trees to stay. We need GREEN. It's not so much the wild animals (though the wild pigs..yes..gross...wander sometimes in that town and I suppose it's just for that reason..their homes where there were open areas are being built on) but just needing trees. When we built our house we had snakes all the time in the house because we disturbed their home.

Michele...you are a BABY! Enjoy your birthday tomorrow. How nice that it's on a long weekend! Did you plan that??? All good things come when it's their time to come. Your house will sell. Whoever bought the other house found something over there appealing. Somebody will come to see your house and find something special in it and buy it, too. I hope that happens SOON!

Amy...hope your dh knew it was you when he woke you up! That's funny that he talks in his sleep. My daughter when she was very little used to WALK in her sleep. We had to be sure all the gates to the stairs were closed good. She would get up and wander but she was sound asleep!

We had two "disasters" last night. When I got home from services, I found my daughter's boyfriend mopping up my studio in the dark! My son had spilled water by the refrigerator and the electricity down there went off as a safety precaution. We got that taken care and then after dinner when I was clearing the table, I dropped a glass and the pieces of glass went sliding across the ceramic floor. What a mess. Pieces of glass and juice were everywhere! So again my girlfriend's boyfriend was cleaning up. We joked about that. I finished the dishes and my daughter washed the floor really good and hopefully we got all the glass. I was exhausted and had no energy but would have done it had she not saved me from doing it!

Meeshell - perhaps the people were like me and Roger , we have only ever bought houses which needed renovating. Perhaps you were just out of budget??
I fell out with my sister today so feel bad. We were all sat around my dads table, when she came out with a story about her friends sister - in law having breast cancer , having the chemo , then having a scan which showed in all over her body and having 3 months left. Then she looked at me and said in all seriousness " surely i havent upset you have i??" I guess she is one of those who thinks that because i have had all of the treatment , it has gone away. Dad is furious with her for being so tactless, she cant quite understand why i was upset - oh families , just love them!
Laura , how awful about the trees. Did you know they were going to build when you bought your plot?
Deb - hey - you had a night at my house!!! Thankfully it could all be sorted.
Graycie - hope you feel better - have a great birthday.
All of our birthday ladies - have a good one!!
Debbie

Happy Birthday to Michele and Cathy!

Mary, I'm glad to hear you're getting help for your depression. I'm not sure if I should go back on the anti-depressants. I'm not doing very well emotionally. Little things set me off. Then I say to myself, maybe it's good that I'm more aware of what's going on around me.

Victoria: I'm thinking about you...