Jan 2008--Ain't it Great?

Vettegal --- let Denise know she's in my thoughts and prayers as she goes in for her surgery tomorrow. GOOD VIBES being sent her way!!! Stay strong -- she's going to need you by her side. Remember to take care of yourself too. {{{{HUGS!!}}}}

Good evening Jewels and happy Cinco de Mayo!  I had tacos tonight with the family to celebrate, but no Corona (or I'd be asleep now for sure!).  It was a very long day and a little overwhelming.  I am surprised b/c I really didn't do anything but sit and listen to orientation info and go on a tour.  But I guess all the mental exercise of focusing and absorbing new info was taxing enough for me-- how sad is that?  Have to keep reminding myself to take it one day at a time.  Tomorrow is nursing orientation, and a lot of computer info, so I hope it doesn't push me over the mental edge-- hahaha.

I am excited to hear D1 got her secret pal, that means mine should be here tomorrow I'll bet.  Should be fun...

Too pooped to give individual shout outs.  Tomorrow night I have a meeting for my Relay after dinner, so I don't even know if I'll be able to get on here to read.

One final note... the parking lot at the hospital is a gazillion miles away from the entrance to the building-- guess that fulfills my wish for more exercise opportunities (have I NOT learned to be careful what I wish for????). 

Happy Monday Eve,

Hoped for a great nights sleep last night, put unfortunately all that fresh air yesterday did not fair well for me.  Must have been those "endorphins" running rampant in my body, between my bodies nightly internal thermostat being screwed up and my mind racing, and two wiener dogs waiting for "dh" to come home (which he wasn't), it was a hiatus Sunday night sleep.  Really wanted to play hooky from work today, but sucked it up this am.

Its amazing how by the end of the day I was re-energized, went for an hour walk when I got home and then up to the market to buy a fresh Dungeness crab.  I really believe that exercise has helped my body tolerate this last txt.  Sure hope that it keeps working for the next 3 rounds.  I have felt better this go around than the last 4 months of txts.  Tried to read the post as I was nibbling crab ... that doesn't work! 

Cathy, boy not much of a break from getting home to back at the lounge.  Yeah for this being your last full fledged txt tomorrow!

D1, I've been liking the new tunes you and the dd recommended.  I do need to re-organize my music, I had my Ipod on shuffle and it went from Tupac to Christmas music.   Nothing like walking to Sleigh Ride!!!  Oh, Kimberly, did have a little Buble as well!

Ginny was kind enough to meet me as I disembarked the ferry, between the two of us we were dead giveaways since we we're both sporting boobie hats!   It was a fabulous reunion, probably another reason that I didn't sleep well, we talked non-stop all morning and I went to bed still jazzed up.

Can't remember if I have mentioned but I'll be in Portland Or this coming weekend for Zach's skate meet.  If the dh heads to Seattle sometime, I'd be bummed if you don't tag along. 

Kimberly, chatted with my friend in Redding today, I guess there is some pretty hot weather down in your neck of the woods.  She drives ambulance in Red Bluff, today they we're transporting a patient to San Jose.  I asked if she knew where Lincoln was, she said she saw the exit sign off the freeway.   She let me know that their pool is ready for some use, their backyard is an oasis, hmmm tempting, but will probably wait until after rads this summer to head south. 

Your trip sounds fantastic, I've never been north of the Phoenix area, someday the dh and I should leave our golf clubs long enough to do some real sight seeing while in AZ.  Your trip sounds more than deserving for yourself as well as your great dh.

Joan, sure hope you stick with us remaining Jewels, I've been snooping a bit on the rad sights as well.  So if I don't see you here maybe on the suntan posts we shall meet.

Kathy, hope that your mind can shut down for a good nights sleep.  Trying to spend any length of time concentrating is just darn right hard, and even though you are a few weeks out from your last infusion the residual effects I believe last for some time.  Hang in there!  Enjoy your walk from the parking lot, hope you have comfy shoes!!!

Going to try to mellow out early tonight, putting fresh batteries in my "fan", and hitting the hay soon,

Night all,

Carol

Hi girls --- had a "yucky" day - not feeling well, bit of a migraine, icky tummy, etc..... Didn't get much done at all for school. The surgeon's office called and they've scheduled me for next Wednesday, the 14th. Although I'd have liked to get it done this week, it's probably better because that gives me a couple more days to get my requisitions done since I accomplished nothing today!

Hope all are well ---- I'll check in again tomorrow - hopefully I'll feel better.

Julie

P.S. Kimberly - thanks for the info on the book. I'll check it out!

Back from my first rads and guess what was waiting in my mailbox? My secret pal! So, I'm looking at the envelope, waiting on my java to brew (had to create just the right ambiance for the "unveiling" of my SP)... that envelope... something is troubling me about my envelope... Then it hits me--I've stuck dear Kimberly with my postage, haven't I? I've got a whole roll of flag stamps, so my envelopes should be bearing the American flag not a lovely flower... I am so sorry, Kimberly!

I saw my surgeon early this morning for a routine visit. I brought up follow-up and was pleased that he takes a much more aggressive approach than my medical oncologist (he's a surgical oncologist). He wants a PET Scan and a brain MRI after I'm about 6-8 weeks out from radiation. He feels both tests are warranted for my tumor profile. He surprised me by suggesting that I consider having an oophorectomy as well. I am going to look into genetic testing and then discuss the ovary situation with my med. onco and gyn.

My first radiation treatment went well. Got my tattoos (3 of them) and my schedule. They have me scheduled for 33 total with the last one on June 20. They reassured me that they were working on getting things adjusted for my trip--I'm flying out on the 17th. I'll either double up on treatments or get my 5 electron boosts when I return from Dallas.

Julie- hope the migraine is GONE!

Well, I'm off to dig in the dirt and plant my annuals. It is nice to be home at this time of day for a change!

Have a good one, everyone!
Paula

Hello Jewels,

   denise is home today. Surgery went well and she is doing great!

I spent the day with her son sunday. It was great just hanging around and talking..making dinner and watching hockey(go penquins)

Carol-she loves the shirt-I said she an honorary member of the Jewels!!!

I am doing ok on rads. Finally got a rx to go for therapy on my neck. Have spasms and just one treatment on monday and I can finally sleep better!! do that 3 times a week for 4 weeks...

Thanks for all the prayers and support. This has been very difficult for me.

hugs to all    xxxxxxoooooo

Patty

Hi Jewels!  Just a quick post, as it is late.  Worked all day, then had Relay meeting.  Very inspiring, and I won a door prize-- a tee shirt. Work was overwhelming again-- more mentally than anything else.  Just trying to focus for 8 hrs again is taxing.  I had to take a nurses' math test today-- normally would've breezed through it quickly.  Needless to say, I barely finished and didn't do my usual stellar job.  Kind of funny story-- i had to park waaaay in the back parking lot today, a good 10-15 minute walk to the hospital entrance.  I was a little late since I had to park farther away than I expected, so I tried to pick up the pace, and by the time I got to the classroom I could barely breathe I was sucking wind so hard.  Great entrance I made!  Lesson for today-- I STILL need to go easy on myself (mentally and physically, and emotionally) and remember to take it one day at a time.

Got my SP in the mail, too.  D1-- good question about limit on funds spent.  I think it would be nice to send small tokens as we can.

Tomorrow I have "off"-- a meeting in the AM only.  I think I need it already...

TTFN!

Evening Gems,

Okay, I've decided that I must be PMS'ing this evening although Aunt Flo is non existent.   Just got off the phone with the dh who's on his way home from CA, and had a major melt down.   I got upset about an hour ago with the ex, discussing our son's driver's license.  I went with the ds to schedule a drive test, (he already passed the written), called the ex to let him know that a drive test was scheduled.  He informed me that we had said he "MUST" get a 3.0 GPA to get his license.  I guess I didn't remember the "MUST" part, been a little sidetrack the past 6 months.   The ds is sporting a 2.9 so the ex says no way on the license.  I said "so if he doesn't get a 3.0 on the June report card we're doing no license all summer and waiting until next fall"?   I personally would like him to have a license (expect him to be working as well) atleast by summer.  I was so proud of the ds last quarter, all A's and B's and as some may remember he was having some real issue earlier in the year.

The ex put his kibosh on the tat as well for the ds, the joys of co-parenting ... and unfortunately I am the worst negotiator, I tend to get emotional before I can spit out what I want to say. 

 Anyway, my soapbox for the eve, on the grand scheme of things I guess this is not such a big deal but it sure upset me tonight.  Whew, okay I feel a little better now!!! My dh thank goodness will be home tonight about 11:00pm, I think I'm in need of a big hug.

Speaking of hugs, I saw Steph at work today, he is really wiped out after having 3 days in a row of chemo last week, and to add to it he was coming down with a cold.  So no hugs for Steph today,  I sure hope he can knock this cold down, he is looking very weak, and had told me he lost 4lbs over the weekend.  He was only at 146 lbs so this is not good.  I think that seeing him today may have added to some of my afternoon stress.

Ms Kimberly, got my pal today as well, I definitely know that this won't be too secret for her, but a lot of fun.  What a great idea you had and thanks for making it happen!

Good for you to get that walk in ... almost 2 miles, your doing great.  I like to call it the good tired after some exercise!

You would love the grocery store in our town.  It's called Central Market and has an amazing selection of seafood.   The dungi crabs are in a tank and cooked fresh daily. You won't  see farm raised salmon in the store ... and half of the produce department is all organic.  You pay a pretty penny there but its worth it.  It's the store with the great wine selections as well, come to think of it I won't be skipping that aisle in about 5 weeks!!!

Paula, so how'd the ds game go?  You had great timing weather wise for an afternoon at home, hope you had time to get your annuals planted.  I'm thinking that maybe after chemo tomorrow I might be back at the nursery.  As you can see my day went all to heck after lunch today,  wish I could have paused my life after our chat and fast forwarded to some more positive times.

D1, havn't worked on the Ipod problem yet, I'm thinking of you gal when I listened to Dear Mama, I did have to listen to it a few times to pick up on all the lyrics, must be these old ears!!!

Thank goodness that your almost done with your rads, sounds like you've been cooked to "well done" not "rare".  So did we get a massage today as well?  As much as you don't care for your lovely undergarment, hopefully your Frankenboob side will feel better soon so you can get that baby back on.

Vettegal, we appreciate you popping in to let us know how your sis is doing.  Please pass on to her that we're all here sending our positive spirits her way. 

Bummer on the neck, glad that you have got some therapy planned to nip it in the bud.  I won't be surprised if you don't have a bit of stress caught up in that neck.   Remember to take care of Patty.

Kathy, so much for not seeing you on the post for a bit, as always enjoyed your post, would really miss you and your stories as you continue on with the next chapter in your life.   I'm impressed with anyone who has to use some real brain power after such a short time of recovery from txts.  I had a mental picture of you huffing and puffing as you entered the room today, each day should bring some continued strength.  Enjoy your day off tomorrow.

Dana, thanks for popping in, and kudos for the good job on your test.  As with Kathy, really using your brain power is commendable.

Julile, hope your feeling better today, sounds as if surgery for next week will be a good thing.  You should be good to go!!!

Wendy sounds like we'll be hitting the lounge tomorrow, and giving CHJ a farewell launch from chemotiniville.  All the best for an uneventful day tomorrow.  And congrats Carol on making this your final farewell visit!

I'm catching a ride tomorrow with a great family friend (she was my mom's best friend for about 40 some years).   She is the one who started forwarding my e-mails back at the beginning of this adventure to Ginny.  As she said as she brought Kent and I dinners when I first had surgery, "your mom would have been bringing you dinner" so I wanted to make sure you we're taken care of ... I'm so lucky to have her in my life.

Okay, starting the yawns, as you all probably are too after reading this long winded post, took a Lorazepam about an hour ago to mellow me out, between kicking back here and that ½ pill, I'll never make it through DWTS tonight!!!

Night all,  Carol

Carol -- you must have posted while I was in compo mode. So sorry you had a rough night -- {{{BIG HUGS}}} -- I'm sure dh's will be much better!! Considering everything your ds has been through this year with you going through bc, I'm thinking a 2.9 is pretty darn good!! My son's grades have gone down a bit this year too and I'm sure it's a reflection of what's been going on with me. I have to remind my dh of that when he freaks on him. Hang in there!

Good morning girls!

Carol, CHJ and Wendy- be thinking of you all today as you tip back another round. Congrats CHJ for finishing chemo today!

Vettegal- great to hear from you. I'm glad Denise came through her surgery well. You both have been in my thoughts so much.

D1- I'm cheering you on to the finish line--only 3 more rads to go! I am a little worried that I might end up with skin issues with rads. They removed the Opsite from my markings yesterday and I have tape burns everywhere. Doesn't bode well for the future, I think...

Carol- my day went "downhill" as well, but in a less traumatic way. Ds' ballgame went very well until the top of the 7th. They started that inning tied 4-4... and ended with a 4-13 loss...very painful to watch, although ds did well (2-2 at bat and 1 RBI).

Your ds' situation is a bit complicated with the ex. Like you need complication in your life right now... Hope ds wasn't too disappointed. Are you guys looking at cumulative GPA? One very bad quarter can knock that all to h3!!. Sounds like he made a 3.0 the last quarter, with all As and Bs. Maybe you can talk to the ex about allowing ds to get the license if he maintains those good grades this quarter as well. Tell ds we're all cheering for a 3.0 so he can drive this summer!

Julie- a BIG congrats to you on NBPTS certification. For those of you not in education, it is a rigorous process to obtain national board certification and, thus, a very prestigious accomplishment! How long did you take to complete the requirements? If I remember correctly, you bought the ill-fated TV with some of your dividends?

I've looked at doing it myself--intended to start the process 2 years ago, but then dh was diagnosed w/ brain cancer. I've been debating on starting after I finish treatment. I know it might be a bit difficult with chemo-brain, but I'm thinking I'll need something positive to focus on...

Oh, not even a HINT of hair on this head, so I can't help you on the soreness. But, what's up with that? It hurt coming out and NOW it's gonna hurt coming back in?

Time to get dressed and get to work.

Have a good one!

Paula

Good Morning Jewels,
So, I see the ps this afternoon and will schedule my exchange surgery. WhooHoo!  Hope I can get it scheduled between my summer ‘cation plans.  Arizona in May, Chicago in June, and Ashland in July…all end of the month ‘cations.
The recovery is two to three weeks, so I think I’ll be good to go if I do this when we get back from Arizona.

Carol- I don’t have the emotional PMS thing, so I can’t really say, “I know what you’re going through,” but I have had moments where my emotions got in the way of communicating effectively with the man in my life when Jon was younger. The good news is that you recognized that you were PMSing and that in the grand scheme this is not really a big deal.  (((((HUGS)))) to keep on tap in case you need another when the dh is unavailable.

A 2.9 is so close.  I agree with Julie that the ds has been through a lot with your bc, but his last set of grades were right in the thick of bc too, weren’t they?
The ex probably feels the ds is capable even in the face of adversity, not that this thought is realistic as the ds’ emotions have probably been a roller coaster. Does ds know what his grades are at this moment?  Can he pull a 3.0 this June?  I agree with Paula and D1. Put your thoughts together and talk with the ex again. If he agrees after you plead your case, then great. If not, I understand your wanting ds to have his license, and he still can if his grades are good enough this June, but if he knew that was the deal, then he’s got to live by those boundaries. I imagine that the good driver’s discount was why the 3.0 became the goal.  If he doesn’t make it, it will be a bummer, but he’ll get over it.  Getting a job for the summer will have to be within biking distance or within range of public transportation, maybe?

I was sorry to hear Steph wasn’t feeling all that great, but glad he was feeling well enough to go to work. I can’t even imagine three days of chemo in a row.  He’s my Hero!!!!

Central Market sounds like our Whole Foods store. I won’t buy farmed fish, only wild as it tastes so much better. I’m thinking I need to make a Whole Foods run on my way home from the ps to pick up some dinner stuff for the rest of the week.  My sisters will be spending the night with us on Friday, so we can all get up and go to the Susan G. Komen race for the cure together. I will be wearing my Check Your Boobies hat!

I’ll be thinking of you as you drink down #10. How great to have a family friend to do those things for you that your mom would do.  We have a family friend like that. If she lived closer, she so would have been helping to take care of me. She helped to care for my mom before she died. They invited my parents to move in and stay with them so they could help my dad out. When mom died, they told dad he could stay for as long as he needed to do so.  Love them.
Those kinds of friends are such a blessing in our lives, aren’t they?

Speaking of DWTS, don’t tell me the results. I DVR’d it. But, Monday’s show was pretty darn good. I was shocked and pleased that Cristian did so well.

Julie- WOW, the National Board Certification is a huge deal!!!!!!  Congratulations.  I don’t even have the energy to even think about let alone go through all of that.

Glad you’re feeling better and that you were able to tackle some of that paperwork.

Looks like I’ll be co-chairing the Language Arts dept. next year. The boss knew I’d need a year to just get my strength back and asked if I’d want to co-chair. It also looks like I’ll be in the LA dept. and the Electives dept. next year teaching two classes of Study Skills and three 7th grade LA classes.  Looks like I’ll have 7th grade LA, Study Skills, Prep, Study Skills, Lunch, and then two 7th grade LA classes. I pretty much didn’t get anything I requested, but since I’m not sweating the small stuff anymore, I’m just going with the flow.  I’m SuperGirl, I can do anything that needs to be done!!!!

I have light peach fuzz on my head that is only visible in the mirror if I have a light behind my head- very halo like. HaHaHa.  I remember when D1 described this peach fuzz phase.  My scalp doesn’t hurt, however.

Paula- Bummer about the tape burns. I know what that is like. As D1 and PAlady have said, keep the boob lubed and use those pads Kathy suggested to help keep things cool and moisturized. 

What a devastating loss for the ds’s team. At least the ds had some good play, and hopefully the team will take this defeat as an opportunity to see where they need to improve as a team, and moves on to do well in the next game.

My son played t-ball then decided team sports wasn’t his thing. He couldn’t handle other kids not doing what they should be doing- very OCD. He got involved in track for a season, then Aikido, then roller hockey for fun in Jr. High and high school, and then electric keyboard…I think you get the picture.  I got to be a team mom for one season, and that was the extent of my son’s sports involvement.

Tina- Good for you getting back to work, yesty.  I’m glad I’ve got three months to just recoup before getting back into the classroom. 150+ kids can wear you down when you’re 100%, so I can’t even imagine going back now.  My whole way of doing my morning is going to change when I go back to work. I like being on the ‘puter in my jammies at 9 and 10am, then thinking about taking a walk, and then showering and doing something productive.

D1- OK, I’ve heard of loving our pets like our kids, but I have never heard of a puppy party with Frosty Paws (like ice cream?) being served to the guests. LOL
Hope Kippy enjoys himself. Will the human guests be indulging in festive libations?

LJ13- Sounds like you've got your game plan for the next few months outlined. Onco nurses do rock. 

Kathy- Hope today isn’t so brain draining.

Wendy and CHJ, thinking of you both along with Carol today. WhooHoo, CHJ on finishing your last round.


SIS Kimberly

 

Hello Jewels,

Well, I am DONE!!! I had my last round of rads today. It has been the weirdest day emotionally. I am so happy to be done with all of this. When I walked out of the cancer center today I just bawled. It was like one huge exhale. I am so thankful to be through all of this and proud of myself for getting through it.

When I talked to dh he doesn't understand why I would be crying. He is just so happy and knows I am happy and thinks I should just want to celebrate. It's probably going to take a few days for it to sink it. I do know it is going to be nice to not have to drive to the cancer center everyday.

Paula I had tape burns from when they did my markers, too. Those are actually the areas that are darkest on me now. My skin never broke though. I think if you just keep using what they tell you, you will hopefully do fine. Like LJ said if you are smaller chested you seem to do better. This is one of the few times in my life I have been happy to be small chested!  I woud like to get a copy of your article and will pm you my email.

Have a good day, all!