Jan 2008--Ain't it Great?
Comments
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Hey Gang. I'm sad today. I don't remember if I told you guys about this, but a good friend of ours who lives on the West Coast was dx'd with colon cancer in January. He didn't go in for his scheduled colonoscopies and by the time he was dx'd, his cancer was everywhere. Well, he died on Thursday. He and his wife have 2 kids-19 and 16. Told my dh we need to find out what his favorite charity was and make a donation in his name (knowing him, it was something related to the environment or music). I'm just sad thinking about it.
Let me shake that off.
Sherry, you're a good place to start. First of all, smart move on flats. You'll be standing a lot and will need to be comfortable. You brought up something that crossed my mind when I saw the picture-that's that the pink in the stone on the shoe and the pink in your pearls will tie them together. You may want to look for some earrings or bracelet with gold, too. The pearls do need to be shortened up, but you already know that and I think you're dead on with the alteration to flatten out the bodice. I LOVE the sheer layer over the dress-very nice. Stick with your ensemble. You are going to be a beautiful mother of the bride.
Sista-LOL on the "yeah, I'm dying" story! Priceless! You probably gave that poor clerk a heart attack!
Oh man, Carol, bummer on the change in weekend plans. Maybe the labor issue will straighten out sooner rather than later and dh will be home for some boat time. (Or, if the ds returns from his victorious experience at Nationals-4th is EXCELLENT. The competition at Nationals is like nowhere else.-you can let him drive the boat!)
Good to hear from you, Tina. Hope the sushi was yummy.
Oh, you're so right about the metal tones and jewels this summer. (How appropriate that jewels are "in!")
Julie! Finally a day out on your boat. WooHoo!!! I don't know much about beach vacations, since my dh doesn't much like the beach. I hope others can come along with some suggestions. Oh, and thanks for Carla's happy dance!
I received a pm from a lurker recently (I won't mention her name in case she prefers the privacy, but I hope you're still lurking!), who alerted me to the fact that many oncs aren't particularly fond of black cohosh for hot flashes while on Tamoxifen because it's a photo-estrogen. I did run it by my onc, just to be sure and he said that there is a lot of material out there on black cohosh and its effectiveness/counter-effectiveness while taking Tamox, so it's completely understandable that different oncs would have different opinions. He said he encourages his patients to try things like black cohosh to see if they help with the hot flashes before pulling out things like Effexor because of the se's on Effexor (did I spell that right?). So, I'm okay on black cohosh, but LWDana, please check with your onc before taking it to make sure he/she is okay with it. Thanks, unnamed lurker, for bringing that caution to my attention. Feel free to jump in anytime, the more the merrier!
Hmmm. I need some more coffee. Have a great weekend, Jewels!
D1
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Good Morning Jewels,
Middle ds had some friends stay over last night and they still haven't slept! They are getting picked up in about an hour so I thought this would be a good time to catch up!
Kimberly - how nice of you to take ds's girlfriend shopping. It is nice that you get along with her so well. In regards to your past, your comment on it shaping who you are, I agree. FWIW, I love reading your comments as you are SO full of wisdom. I'll pm you my address. You sound as busy as ever.
D1- Happy belated Anniversary. Sounds like your dinner was great. Have you and dh been able to take a get away with out the dd's? Dh and I always connect better when we go somewhere without the kids. Somehow we always seem to be able to get back to those feeling we had when we first fell in love. Luckily we are able to do that once or twice a year.
Is it rawhide bones you are not supposed to give the dog? Ours is only about 18 months, but I would like to avoid any big vet bills.
Cedar Point IS the place for coasters. The kids laugh when I tell them which ones were the "new" biggest and best back in our day. They don't even bother with some of them! I like the spinning rides, only one of the kids does and dh can't stand them.
I am going to have to keep in mind the urge to cry on the tamox. I have had it a few times, but not linked it. I have just read recently about flaxseed helping with hot flashes. I have not had to deal with any hot flashes yet (thankfully). When you lose your nails, can you at least paint the toenail beneath to make it look decent? I have a feeling the timing on mine is going to bad but would like to at least be able to cover it.
Bravo on dd's grades! Just read about your friend. Sorry to hear about him. I think I do remember you mentioning it. It sure wasn't too long ago. Will either of you go out there?
Dana - Sorry you are still having struggles. I don't have anything to add other than I think of you and send prayers your way often.
Carol - So did ds ever find his wallet? That is so cool you could watch his race. I think 4th is great for nationals, and there is definitely something to be said for even making it there. It is so good for them to see the level of competition out there.
My gyn was fine with me have the ooph. She said I should get a second opinion from another onc if I want to get insurance to pay for it. I then had a follow up with my onc's back -up on Thursday. He said insurance should be for it even if my onc says I should have them out. He also said I would not go on the shot to shut down my ovaries until a year or two of being on the tamox. I was under the impression that they were going to start at this appointment. (My onc is out of the country). He did agree that the leg pain I have been having has probably been from the taxotere. I am annoyed at all the differing views from doctors even within the same practice. It makes my head hurt at times trying to figure it out. To top it off, TOM came this week with a vengeance!
How many more rads for you? Sound like you are hanging in there. I seem to be going in spurts too with the eating. I think this time of year it is hard to buckle down. I do much better once I get going, though.
Paula - Sometimes it is sooo good to be home, huh?! Hopefully by this time dh has gotten some relief for his digestive system. We're working on the college visits this summer too. One of the colleges that ds first was interested was Davis & Elkins. Is that anywhere near you? I think the only actual resemblance to JLC is that we both have short hair!
Maz - So sorry to hear about your father. Maybe it was a good thing that he didn't want a funeral so you didn't have to be torn about missing it. It will be good for you to be there, if you can, when they have the burial at sea. Glad you are back home from the hospital, too. Hang in there.
LJ - I like the idea of a charm bracelet. Looks so much more stylish instead of practical! LOL at the pic comment to Carol. I love the story about your emerald ring.
Kathy - Girl I don't know how you do it! That's all I can say...
WVgirl - High five on the clean path!! I am so happy for you. As far as DH is concerned - life is too short. Do what makes you happy - you are worth it! I am sure your mom will fall behind whatever you do. I have heard 1/4 " per month and that is much closer to where I am on the hair growth.
Sista - Thanks for the laugh! I was cracking up at the "dying" comment.
Sheshe - I like the dress and the shoes. I think you will look beautiful!
Tina - Hi Girl! *waving* Sounds like you are doing well.
Julie - Sounds like you all are having fun doing all the water stuff! The only all inclusive dh and I have gone to was the Moon Palace down in Cancun and we loved it. Some people don't like Mexico much, but we have been to there 4 or 5 times and like it. Another option would be a cruise. Then you can go to a few different places.
Well the kids are just starting to leave. We have a graduation party to go to this afternoon and ds is coming back from Florida. Have a great weekend, all!
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Hi JJ's,
I hope everyone had a great Sat, I have been busy I went to my church and worked in the food pantry and then to my mom's and then to the gym. I have had a full day. Thanks everyone for all your comments on my dress and shoes, I was doubting myself because my sister kept telling me to buy a different pair of shoes and told me to try on the shoes she wore at her son's wedding. ect...The shoes are comfortable and like D1 said I will be standing all day and night.
D1 I just want to say i'm sorry about your friend dying I do remember you telling us over the winter. It's sad he is leaving his kids so young. My prayers are with you at this time. Just try to remember all the good times maybe it will make you feel better. If you have a funny story to share with us about your friend go ahead and tell us. When my aunt died of breast cancer 3 years ago. I was telling her daughter about the time me and her mom got drunk and decided we were going to ride the mechanical bull. So my Aunt Shirley went first and they said they would go slow, they cranked it up to 10 full speed and it was funny she rode the thing and never fell off. I can't remember if I rode it or not, we were drunk, I thought I did not ride it. And one of my cousins said I did. We had a blast that night, my aunt was 13 or 14 years older than me, so she was a bad influence on me. It was some of the best years of my life. After I told my cousin the story it made her feel better, that was a part of her mother she did not know and she felt she knew her better. Thanks for all the tips on my dress, Brandy and I will start to fix the dress next week, I don't want to wait till the last minute. Actually it's a 3 piece outfit, a skirt, blouse and jacket. I just call it a dress, it looks like one.
PAlady I have meant to get on this board and tell you girls about flaxseed oil and I keep forgetting. If you are ER or PR positive breast cancer you cannot take flaxseed oil, it has estrogen in it. Here we are taking drugs to stop the estrogen and we take flaxseed oil or antitoxin's and put the estrogen back into our bodies. So please don't take the flaxseed oil if you have ER or PR positive cancer. That's what my oncologist told me. It's ok to eat sweet pot. and foods with estrogen. Foods that contain estrogen is so low like 2% so it is safe. The vitamins with antitoxins have a high estrogen percentage and we are urged to stay away from them.
Maz So sorry to hear about the loss of your father, my prayers go out to you.
Julie It does sound like you are having a great time, I agree with Pa lady Cedar Point is the greatest.
I don't know what is good for the hot flashes, I'm having some at night when I try to go to sleep, I cover with the sheet and during the night I feel chilled and pull up the blanket. It's not that bad for me. I'm having trouble with bone pain and leg cramps in the middle of the night. But not every night. Have a great Sunday, Sherry Oh p.s. when I got drunk with my aunt it was over 20 years ago, I'm not so wild and crazy now.
WVgirl How are you feeling, I hope you are getting better.
Carol Good idea with the ER bracelet, last month at the cancer center I forgot and the nurse forgot and took my blood pressure in the right arm, That's a NO NO. I know you are so proud of her ds. He is a winner in my book.
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Wow, so much for getting home and wanting to give a quick little shout out ... sorry gals, I don't have it in me.
Left this morning at 5:45am, just home at 4:30. Went on a "marathon" training walk (18 miles) today. I swore we we're walking in San Fran, the hills on the route we're killer. Although I must say that the uphills for me are better than the downs on my knees. Today was the first day that once I took my shoes off (poor Ginny as we we're in her car), I felt a couple of "hot" spots on each heel. This has me a bit concerned, I've been doing so good with my feet. On my way home from the ferry, swung by the grocery store, bought some Epson salts (will be soaking the tootsies), and since I was there picked myself up a Dungi crab. No cereal for me tonight, even with the dh out of town. Tina I think you asked where Long Beach is, head to LA, and from there go West to the coast. I spoke with the Kent a couple hours ago, and supposedly the "worker bees" we're in more negotiations today, and possibly the word was that they may come to an agreement. So who knows, maybe he will be back on a plane north by tomorrow.
In the mean time, I told Ginny that I would come back over to the Seattle side of the water tomorrow (since dh will probably not be home til late if he does return) to do a short 12 mile training walk with the team. Needless to say, I'm going from the puter to soak my feet, nothing like a quiet house, a LARGE glass of white wine (I had more than enough water today), and a tub full of Epson salts. Life is Good in my little world.
The ds is hopefully boarding a plane (with no ID), and heading back to lil' ol Poulsbo tonight. He's had a great experience and I'm hoping he might have a story to tell. I swear he's been gone a week, and our cel chats have been less than 15 minutes total for the week. I guess I should be happy that Life is Good for him as well, and chatting with Mom is not his first priority.
Sorry for posting all about my day, know that I read every word prior to spewing at the keyboard myself. Is it crazy or what, that I come home and still like to check in to see what my "gal friends on the puter" (as my dh calls you all), are up to?
Thinking of you all often, (even Ginny asked about the gal's on-line) and usually I have a story to tell ...
Carol
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This week has disappeared in a blur. I think I put a lot of things off to this week when I knew I wouldn't have rads, so ended up running around like crazy. Had a fundraiser on Monday night for the Breast Cancer 3-day, which was a lot of fun. Thursday was youngest son's 18th birthday. Had dr. appts on Tuesday for oldest son and for me on Wednesday. I was seeing my internist and she looked at my blood work and said "nothing interesting here". It feels good to be back to where I'm a boring case. I've always been ridiculously healthy, so the past 9 months of seeing doctors and going for treatment has been a big change for me.
Julie -- I don't have suggestions on which all-inclusive, but do have a couple general thoughts. First, don't book one that includes a lot more than you will use. They are priced based on what they include, so as an example, if you don't scuba dive, don't use one that includes free diving. Second, keep hurricane season in mind. I have had several friends spend their vacations in emergency shelters (Cancun and Jamaica), so you may want to look at the West Coast or Hawaii if it is late summer/fall.
Sherry -- I think your outfit is beautiful. I like that it is simple, but elegant and the shoes are a beautiful accessory.
D1 -- I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. In addition to losing a friend, cancer deaths just hit that much harder. My dh had a colonoscopy earlier this month and they removed one small polyp. He works with someone who just lost his best friend to colon cancer, so his work colleague has become a crusader for early detection.
Carol -- congratulations to ds and I hope dh will be home soon. Quick correction on your geography -- Long Beach is due south of downtown LA. If you went west, you'd be in Santa Monica. I was born and raised in that area and it's always been strange that Long Beach is a city of almost 500,000 people and few have heard of it. If it was anywhere except in the shadow of LA, it would be the biggest thing around.
Sorry you ended up with a hotspot. Hope that long soak helps. Have they had you make a kit for your training walks? We're suppose to carry our packs as part of the training and have moleskin, extra socks and the like in it. One suggestion is to change socks after 10 miles.
PALady -- even in my day I wondered why they were ever called "sleepovers" since the whole idea was to not sleep. LOL! I think video games have made it even worse. My youngest will sit with his friends and play video games half the night just as their normal routine.
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Had a nice visit with my mom this weekend. We went to the kids' last swim lesson for the summer (we will not be around for enough of the next half of the summer to make the fees worthwhile). They both did great. Afterwards we went to the Y's outdoor pool (which is awesome... it's new, and so worth the extra money we are paying for our membership now). All I can say is again, water and fresh air are great for kids! They had a blast, and my littlest was asleep 10 minutes into the drive home. We had brought a picnic lunch to eat while we were at the pool-nice bonus to the afternoon. Went out for homemade ice cream at an outdoor stand around the corner from our house (the nice thing about living in the "country") after dinner last night. Dh is home after his golf tournament, he didn't win but had fun with the "boys". All the guys "earned" a parting gift... dh came home with a new driver. He also had some winnings from the poker games the guys played each night after golfing. Such a testosterone-laden 3 days for him!
Carla: Glad to hear your good news about negative nodes.
I think you are right that you could make it on your own if that's what you decide to do; you could make it work somehow. As for your girls... my parents got divorced when I was 19. It was tough b/c I'd had this image that our family was "perfect" growing up, and that was shattered. But I did fine with some counseling. As an adult, I am happy to see both my parents much happier apart than they were together, and I know they did what they had to do for themselves, which ultimately was also a better environment for me and my brother.
SIS Kim: Kudos to you for your healthy eating. Your meals always sound delish. I have to admit there are a few processed foods that still manage to make it into my house on a regular basis. Even Sun Chips would be considered "healthy" here.
D1: My hair isn't growing that 1" a month either. I think I have a little over 1" total for about 3 months' growth now. (Sigh). Glad to hear your anniversary dinner was yummy and dh noticed your "look". And my comment (haha), wasn't supposed to help your hot flashes, silly... it was supposed to help turn up the heat elsewhere (I'm sure you knew this).
On a more serious note, sorry to hear of you friend's passing. Colon cancer just sounds awful (coming from someone who has enough GI issues). I think a contribution to charity in his name would be lovely.
Sista: LOL on your sweatshirt story. Only us BC survivors would find the dark humor in that
Carol: So cool ds was on the tube, even if he didn't do as well as he'd liked. Hope Kent's home soon.
Sheshe: Don't be too impressed with me. I only work 4-8 hours a week at my second job, and I do 32 a week at my other one.... So that's about what everyone else does normally. And my dh is really good with picking up the slack with the kids. I couldn't do it without him. We are a team.
I personally like heels, but those shoes look comfortable and the jewel is a nice touch. I say if you like them, go for them!
Julie: sounds like you had a nice weekend, and a bonus of no kids! I always miss mine, but do enjoy the few moments we get alone without them.
When does school restart for you (sorry to bring that up, just curious!)?
PaLady: I'm not sure what the deal is with rawhide, but all my dogs (current one included) puke when they eat them.
Hope you got some sleep while ds and his friends were up all night. Dd is so eager to have sleep overs... I'm not ready yet (she's only 5); I told her maybe for her 7th b-day party (and I stress the MAYBE).
Cathy-CA: Nice to see you again with your busy schedule. I agree, there's no sleeping in sleepovers!
GTG... laundry to fold.
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Hello Jewels, I am no longer MIA. I had such good intentions a few weeks ago about staying caught up, but ...... there is no good excuse.
So I'm going to try to send a few shout outs for the last couple of pages & then go back to reading.
D1, I am very sorry your friend has lost his battle with the nasty disease. I think it is more emotional (I'm not sure if that is the word I want) now when someone dies from cancer. Before BC I had that feeling that it couldn't or wouldn't happen to me. Can't say that now. In fact it was a shock when I filled out a form for my knee doc & had to check the box that said I have had it.
On a lighter note, maybe if you were "hot" in other places you wouldn't notice the hot flash so much.
PALady, We give our dogs rawhides & have had no trouble. I'm always careful to buy ones that were made in the USA. I read that other countries use formaldehyde to process their rawhides. And that's not good. I'd warn you away from the colored ones. They stain the dogs paws and any furniture or carpet they come in contact with. Learned that the hard way.
Sherry, I have also been warned against every eating soybeans again. It seems that anything that has been recommended to ease menopause symptoms has been crossed off our list of things that are good for us.
I like the dress and I like the shoes. My suggestion would be to wear natural colored hose. But that's just me & I've never been much of a fan of pastel ones. The pearls are great but I agree on shortening them up some.
Carol, Girl you make me exhausted with all that talk about walking. I know I need to but I'm doing good if I make a half mile walk around town. Hopefully I can improve once I get this knee straightened out.
My onc put me on Femara. Do check out their web page as there is a coupon for the 1st month free. I stared last Fri. and as of today (a whopping 3 days) I can see no se.
Maz, I am so sorry about your Dad. My own Daddy died 3 ½ years ago. We were very close. I still miss him every day but I also can think of something good everyday & not cry. People told me it would get better but I didn't believe them. Then sometime when I wasn't looking I realized that I could look at his picture without that kicked in the gut feeling. It all came back during this BC nightmare but it's getting better again. Pray for help, remember the good times & continue to talk to him.
Carla, I wish my hair would stand up on top of my head. I'm using gel & anything I can think of to try to spike it. It just lays down as soon as I quit working with it. My hair is NOT growing an inch a month. I had it colored about 6 weeks ago & you can barely see my roots. But it seems to be getting thicker.
I am so sorry to hear about the personal stress you are going thru. I will pray for you.
LJ13, I like your charm. I wondered if this was something I should do.
Kimberly, I had to do exercises on that ball after my back surgery. I called it the Devil Ball because I fell off every time I tried to use it. I'm usually not that uncoordinated, but I made everyone in the PT room laugh every day.
Diane63, that baby is gorgeous. I remember the 1st time I held my 1st grandson. He wasn't even an hour old. It's a marvelous feeling isn't it.
I'm sure I have missed some shout outs, but I've been interrupted several times.
We celebrated last Thurs. as it was my LAST rad tx. Couldn't come a minute too soon as 3 spots on my collarbone area were raw & weeping. I was weeping too it was so painful. Rad. Doc gave me a different cream & it did help the pain. But I had trouble finding something to wear that doesn't rub. Finally thought of putting non-stick bandage pads where the clothes met the raw skin. Yesty I saw some improvement and today is wonderful. I still know it is there, but it is so much better.
I am finally seeing a doc for my knee. It's been 5-6 weeks & it is still swelling. Rad doc talked me into it. I couldn't get in until tomorrow, made the appt 2 wks ago. I was almost ready to cancel because I thought I saw an improvement. Then last Mon. our office dog, this adorable Bassett Hound named Thumper, went blind in an instant. When dh called me into the office where she was & I found out what was happening I knelt down on the floor to be with her. Put weight on the bad knee & good night Irene. I thought I was going to scream. Now it's swelling so bad again & even starting to bruise again I'm glad I didn't cancel. 8:30 AM tomorrow. Thumper means so much to me because I'm the one who office trained her & she laid on a pillow on my lap when she was a puppy while I worked. Her owner is the son of the company owner. He's 29 & I've known him since he was about 2. He's like another son to me. He took her to the vet & they did surgery right away. But we won't know for about a month if she regains her sight again.
Hair is very slow to come in. Seems I got enough to cover my head & then it stopped. I get compliments everywhere I go on my "hair cut". When I explain that it's not on purpose everyone say I should keep it like this. I'd like to have enough to roll around a small brush when I dry it. The only exception to this hair situation is my legs. I swear it's growing faster than before. UGH!!
I'm working full time again. But come home & have to sit down & prop up the knee. I'm beginning to feel normal again. Someone said it would be a new normal & it is. Especially mentally. But it's not bad & I am getting used to it. I have the knee doc tomorrow & Herceptin , rad doc on Thurs. & bone density test on the 28th. But then I don't have to see anyone until the 14th of Aug. I'm looking forward to that break.
I gotta go. Swelling is catching up with me. I love you guys & miss you when I don't visit.
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Toenail update: I've now lost six!!! The big ones are really ugly, but the others aren't so bad. The only one that has hurt so far has been the left big toe because I bumped it with the vacuum cleaner today and that left the nail perpendicular to my toe. I tried to push it back down, but it wouldn't stay. So I wiggled it off. I don't think it was quite ready. Lesson to other taxotere vets-let the nails fall off on their own. They don't hurt that way.
So, let's see what's up...
PALady-I'm surprised you survived the "sleepover" in such good humor. The kids always seem to stay up all night at our house, which means no one gets much sleep! The vet said it was real bones-not the rawhides that did Kip's teeth in. You gotta be able to give them SOMETHING to chew on, or all your socks and underwear would be destroyed! Oh, and yes, I'm painting what it left of my toenail. I don't know if I'd call them decent, but it is what it is.
You know, I'm still having some lingering stiffness in one ankle from the Taxotere, so I'm not surprised to hear about your legs. When I stay in one position for too long, everything is stiff (I wasn't like this before), but I really notice my left ankle is sore all the time. Good news is that it is getting better, so I remain optimistic.
Thanks, Sherry, for sharing the story about your aunt. It's been a long time since we've seen our friend. His wife went to grad school in TX with my dh (I was doing undergrad there) and we become VERY good friends with her. As soon as we all graduated, we left TX for this area and she met her husband to be here. He became part of our circle of friends, too. When their oldest was around 3 years old they moved their family to the San Fran area, so we haven't seen them as much as we used to (we both stayed with one another a couple of times over the years, but it never seemed often enough). Right now, the wife has taken the kids to spend a week or so at the grandparents house in CO (they did this every summer) and is organizing memorial plans from there. I don't know if it will be the kind of thing one attends, or not. We'll have to wait and see what she decides.
Okay, Carol, yikes on the "hot spots." I'm not a marathon walker, like you and CathyCA, so I'm not even sure what to suggest. I hope you figure something out. It would not be good to develop them on your 3 day. I can't believe TSA let the ds board a plane without photo id. I got a little shit last time when they looked at the id with long hair and at me with none!
CathyCA-another busy Jewel! Good suggestions to Julie about the all-inclusive thing. I don't think I've ever done one of those, so I wouldn't even know where to begin.
Good advice to Carol on her hot spots. I knew you'd be the one to have some.
Sounds like your experience with "sleepovers" is about the same as mine!
Everyone must be busy this weekend-hooray! I'll stop by tomorrow and see what's up.
D1
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Oh, I missed some posts while I was composing (and paying attention to college girl's description of her dorm room for the coming year).
KathyL-I'd completely forgotten how I used to pack lunch when we went to the pool! What great memories you bring back!
Oh, and I totally caught your drift. I was just joshin' ya. (Still working on it!)
Jenn-Good advice about the colored rawhides. They do stain PALady, so stick to the natural ones.
Oh, and yes, yes, yes to Maz and holding convos with her dad. I do it all the time. In fact, I have the songs from his memorial service on my iPod and it's always amazing to me that with over 2000 songs on there (which I keep in shuffle mode), my dad's songs will play when I need him.
Good thing you're getting that knee checked out-it sounds like it's overdue. I hope they're able to get you some relief. (Fingers are also crossed for Thumper's vision-I'm a dog-lover, too.)
Okay, that should do it for now.
D1
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Wow, what a weekend.
The BBQ was great until one of our little neighbor girls – 3years old- took a major header off the jumpy house slide. An ambulance was called and the fire trucks showed up, too. She’s fine, I am happy to report. She had only bumps and bruises.
Spent a lot of Sat. morning talking to ds about his course of action…classes needed to get his math degree… and it looks like he’s in for awhile. Math is a tough degree with 57 units worth of classes on top of the general ed. required by Sac. State that you can’t take at the community college level. He still has a year and a half to finish his AS in math at the community college level. Anyway, we’re convinced he’s got his ducks in a row and will eventually graduate with a degree. I told him I’ll be close to retirement, and he’ll just be starting a new career.
Also went to see The Black Night yesty. The theater was packed. I liked Heathe (sp?) Ledger’s performance (creepy), and the plot was well written in that it left you guessing, but lots of blowing things up and blood scenes. I wouldn’t see it again myself. Greg loved it.
Today, a little morning magic started the day off nicely and made my man a happy camper. It was clear he was in need, if you know what I mean. Sorry if that’s TMI. Anyway, I was energized enough to clean out my office closet and get things organized with Greg’s help with the heavy stuff. Oh yeah!!!!
The rest of the day is still up in the air. Maybe a trip to Aaron Brothers for frame matting and the Scandinavian Furniture store for my office.
D1- I am so glad that your anniversary dinner was so nice, and that you got a compliment even the next morning about how wonderful you looked the previous night. Reminds me of that song “Lady In Red”.
Ahhh, communication certainly is a complicated issue. If only we didn’t bring all of our baggage into it in the first place, but as humans, we do get our buttons pushed by things that remind us of the past, and we react even though the circumstances are so different. We also have a tendency to use things against our partners if it benefits us (you being compared to your dad). The good news is those patterns can be broken and replaced. Bravo on your perseverance to work this through with the dh.
The property looked great after the landscaper guy whacked everything down to the dirt. Don’t think the fire dept can say our property is a fire concern now. The smoke has cleared for the most part, but here are fires sparking up daily. The biggest on in Northern CA was started on purpose in Paradise, CA near Chico. Sad that someone feels destroying property and nature is a good idea.
Oh man, six nails? That so sucks!!!!
I’ve been feeling lots of aches and pains getting up from a seated position or from bed since chemo. It’s been three months this coming week. I hoped to have more improvement by now, but I know it takes time.
Sherry – Glad you could laugh at the sweatshirt situation. Poor girl probably just wanted to melt into the floor when you told her you were dying. LOL
What are the colors of the wedding?
You asked for honesty, and I’m hoping you really wanted honesty because I personally think that although the dress looks great fit wise knowing the front will get tweaked, the color washes you out a bit as shown in the photo. I know you want to look amazing in your daughter’s wedding photos, and I fear this color won’t do that for you. If the color isn’t really what is shown, then I stand corrected and admit I’m totally off base here. Is there a way to add some color that would brighten up the outfit and show off your pretty face? You could get some beautiful multicolored silk material to cover the collar, go down the edges of the front from the collar, and around the bottom hem, and then do the cuffs. Just that accent of color would really make your eyes and hair pop and make your pink pearls more obvious against your skin. Does that make sense? A good seamstress could do that for a decent price. With that addition, you could wear the jacket over a nice pair of dressy black pants with the shirt from your outfit at a different event and have two outfits. As far as the shoes, I think they add something, and the material you get to dress up the jacket could incorporate the golds, silvers, and pinks. Just a thought.
Carol – Bummer your boy didn’t make it to the next round, but WOW that he made Nationals in the first place, and double WOWWOW that you could watch him remotely.
Now, I know that I may sound totally whacko…and my dh would totally agree with you on me being a bit whacky, but about the Sun Chips comment, I can’t think of what else to attribute it to except eating a processed food. I think my body is just really different after chemo, which is good because my body wants good food, and not in large quantities either, but that’s not so easy to manage all the time. Another weird thing is that wine affects me a lot faster now, but that doesn’t stop me from having a glass (or two) when I want wine, which is several times a week these days.
Bummer about the Long Beach tug boat strike and the cancellation of your dinner…or maybe not as I read further.
Just so you know, we won’t be doing 18 miles when you get here. LOL Hope the feet got a good soak and the Dungi crab got a good soak as well…in some butter! Yummy.
Tina – Well howdy! It is great that everyone is moving on with their lives and to hear about the more ‘normal’ stuff isn’t it?
Hope you enjoyed your sushi dinner. I haven’t had sushi in awhile. Hmmm, might have to do that in the next week or so.
Julie – Yeah for great boating weather. Looks like your ds is good with the nieces which is a bonus for all concerned.
I did get some curriculum stuff done as far as cleaning out my binders and deciding what I want to use for my new Study Skills class and what I want to use for my Lang. Arts class. I just feel the need to start over new as I don’t feel like I’m the same kind of teacher I was before. Does that make sense?
My girlfriend invited me to her condo in Tahoe this week to work on the Study Skills curriculum on Wed. and Thurs. My dh doesn’t think we’ll get any work done, but I know we will in addition to enjoying nice walks and meals.
Hmmm, an all inclusive for the big 20 sounds nice. I’ve only been to Manzanillo, Mexico. It was OK, but I would prefer the Bahamas or the Carribean.
D1- I am sooooo sorry to hear that your friend/neighbor passed away. I do remember you talking about him earlier in our postings.
I totally agree with you and Tina that Jewels are soooo in!
I am pleased your onc prefers you to try the natural approach rather than just putting you on Effexor, as it does have se’s that aren’t always fun.
Norma- A sleep over where no one slept, eh? I’ll bet the boys certainly crashed early last night.
It was fun shopping with my ds’s gf. She’s a cutie. We got several pairs of pants, capris, and shorts and a few tops. I was pleased with what we got for less than $200.
Thank you so much for the compliment.
So, will you do the ooph and then start Tamox, or do Tamox and then do the ooph? I’m sorry you got your period again. I guess when you’re a younger woman, you don’t go into chemo pause for good. Bummer.
Cathy – Hi, glad to hear from you and to know that your life, like Tina stated earlier, is back to ‘normal’ as far as being busy with life’s stuff. So, now that his past week is over, you should have an all clear for awhile as far as doc visits, right?
Kathy- What fun your kids must have with you as their mom…swimming, picnic lunch, and ice cream.
LOL on the testosterone laden three days for the dh.
Jenn- Welcome back stranger. Good to know that you’re life is moving right along, and that rads is over and done with.
I hope your office pup will recover her sight.
Hope the knee is an easy fix. Lots of knee folk in PT with me.
Take care of you. You sound great!!!!
All caught up gals.
Have a great Sunday. SIS Kimberly
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Hi Jewels,
Home from another day of walking ... a short 12 miler today, and happy to report the Epson salts worked wonders on my feet. Deciding laying in bed last night that I think I had my shoes laced to loosely and had a bit of a slide going on. Needless to say, I had my rippers snugged up today.
Cathy, thanks for your suggestions, I have more dog-gone info as to what to carry, I could come close to performing surgery with my supplies I carry with me. My feet yesterday didn't feel too bad until the last couple miles, (isn't that always the case?), trust me I have extra socks, heck I even have extra undies still packed (TMI, but when I was having some extra curricular GI problems you never know what you might need!!!) It was so encouraging to walk 12 miles today and have it feel like a short walk.
The team I'm walking with is I think the biggest one doing the Seattle event. The first weekend of Aug there are 50 plus of us going to Whidbey Island and camping out and walking about 40+ miles over the weekend. They have arranged for a small crew to work the event, have sweepers for walkers that are not up to the mileage, etc. For me I'm probably more concerned about trying to pack my duffle with the appropriate gear and camping then I am about the walking. I'll be leaving my car and catching yet another ferry over to the island, Ginny will be picking me up, so needless to say I will have to have my stuff together since I won't have a vehicle to place any extras in. Can't wait to spend the night in a 4 person tent with 4 others (not really my cup of tea)!!! Boy once again this whole bc experience is quite something and has made my life really open up to new encounters.
The dh's trip to CA was short lived (thank goodness), he is home this afternoon, in fact he has invited our friend (who's wife is out of town), over for dinner along with my fil. So needless to say, I will be hitting the "galley" in a few. The flank steak is marinating as I type.
So Kimberly, if we hit the pavement 8 times in one day for 2 miles at a whack we'd be cruising!!! Trust me, one of my reasons for getting in some longer walks now is that I know I'll be on "cruise control" for a couple of weeks in Aug. Between the homestretch of rads and cation I'll be in low gear and not planning on pushing myself at all. I'll be more than happy to just do some good stretching and that would be more than my elbow!!!
Sorry to yak extensively on walking and more walking, I need another weekend day to get caught up with you all, as I said last night, havn't missed a word written, and so appreciate what all the Jewels have to say ...
Gotta hit the galley, told the dh I'm not too interested in a late night dinner on a Sunday, so I need to do my part.
Carol
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Hey everyone,
Busy few days here. Dh is on Prevacid now and is feeling much better. I've been practically glued to his side and afraid to leave him over the past week. He had a small seizure Tuesday and I was afraid there might be more to come. Ds and dd have some experience dealing with his seizures, but I feel better if I'm in control.
By Friday he was over the worst. Saturday afternoon I got an invite from some friends to go out to dinner and a movie and I jumped at the opportunity to go out and unwind for a bit. We saw Mama Mia. I had heard such good things about the play and the movie was quite enjoyable. I love Meryl Streep-who knew she could SING?! (And what a trip down memory lane hearing all those old ABBA songs). Topped the weekend off with a shopping excursion this afternoon with my bf (my beach trip buddy). Very nice!
Just caught up with all the posts. Can't believe I haven't posted since Wednesday...
Maz- my friend, I am very, very sorry to hear of your father's death. It is a lot to cope with after losing Val so recently. I'll be praying for your strength to deal with your feelings and to finish with your radiation. I'm glad that scary hospital stay didn't show anything serious. It does sound like a classic anxiety attack (you definitely had good cause for one), but please don't ignore the symptoms if they return. Take care of yourself!
Carol- I was SO surprised to get a visit from the seafood fairy on Wednesday! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You are terrific!
Wow- can't believe your onco is shifting gears on your targeted therapy... You're all set for Tamox and now it will be an AI? Talk about messing with your mind!
Hope ds made it home safely. I second the comments on what a great experience this was for him competing nationally-and 4th place ain't too shabby!
Take care of those tootsies, gf!
Kimberly- ya mean Sun Chips aren't a health food???
LOL at the image of you bouncing around on your exercise ball! I second the motion to adjourn to the condo at Tahoe for further curriculum development.
Julie- the boating trip sounds wonderful! Glad you got to enjoy some lake time!
D1- congrats to dd on her super AP scores. I just got ds's in the mail... wish I could brag, but the boy bombed his... Dang it!
Oh my... just read about your friend's death. I'm so sorry. FUC!!!
WVGirl- Glad to hear from you and that your surgery went well. HURRAY on the good path report!! You've been so strong through all of this and your DH has definitely not been there for you. Hope you're healing well and getting the support you need right now. Don't hurry back to work before you're fully recovered.
LJ- thanks for sharing your pic of your bracelet. I love it-much better than the standard ones. My dh has that same charm, so I have the info to order my own here somewhere....
Your emerald is beautiful-what a wonderful remembrance of your mother.
Kathy- glad you caught the dehumidifier before things got out of hand. We opted not to have a basement when we built out house d/t to the moisture factor here...
Hey, 40 hours a week with two little ones makes you a SHERO in my book, gf!
Dana- you're still in my prayers, Lil Warrior!
Sherry- Your dress for the wedding looks very pretty. I think the shoes are TOO cute, but I wonder if you need a little heel with that length of dress. You might consider wearing your sister's heels for the wedding and slipping into those adorable flats for the reception. I can see what Kimberly is getting at about the color. (I found the same thing with one of my beige caps while I was on chemo. I was so pale that the beige made me look washed out.) Play with your makeup and consider adding a little color to your dress or with your accessories-esp. right around the neckline. I love the style--very classic. I'm so excited for you-your smile is contagious!
Sista- LOL at the sales clerk's reaction to your comment! Would have loved to see her face (and yours!).
Norma- Davis & Elkins is in a beautiful area of the state. It is about 3 hours north of us. Ds and I may be checking that school out as well. Wouldn't it be neat if we could time our boys' campus visits at the same time?! Keep me posted if you decide to visit there.
CathyCA- Hurray for the "boring" check-up. Here's to your getting back to being ridiculously healthy!
Jenn- so good to see your post. No need for excuses, girl, you have a life to live! Congrats on being finished with rads!! Glad you're getting that knee looked at (finally). Oh, best wishes for your doggie friend (poor thing!).
Hmmm, dh is back up and feeling perky IYKWIM...
gtgPaula
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Kathy - glad you had a good visit with your mom and your dh had fun at his golf tournament. Sounds like you are keeping the little ones busy this summer.
Jenn -- congratulations on finishing rads! Sounds like it's time to focus on your knee. I hope it turns out to be something minor. I know what you mean about having a break from all the appointments. I'm still not quite there, yet.
D1 -- don't know what's up with you and your toenails, but it needs to stop!
Kimberly -- I feel your pain on trying to get your son on course. My oldest is mostly retaking classes this fall to try to get his GPA up. I'm hoping he has finally gotten a bit more maturity and will stick with college this fall.
Carol -- I don't know about the rest, but I love your reports on your training walks. The weekend at Whidbey Island sounds like a great way to train and have fun.
Paula -- glad Ed is doing better. I saw "Mama Mia" on Friday with a friend and was blown away by Meryl Streep's singing. Is there anything that woman can't do?
I need to wake up youngest in a few minutes and get him off to the oral surgeon. He's having all of his wisdom teeth out this morning. I think he'll do fine, but he's nervous.
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I had my first insurance snafu today. It seems the company from which I purchased my fugly compression garment and most recent sleeve is not a participant in my insurance and I cannot get reimbursement for those products. The garment was $325 and the sleeve $168! They applied $23 to my non-participant deductible (which I will never meet) for the garment. They said the rest of the charge was not allowable, so I'm responsible to pay it. I did tell the operator that my garment is like the biggest bra ever and that no way would $23 even begin to cover the cost-just for her information. Then I hung up the phone and cried. Damn that Tamox for making me such a weepie mess. This bites.
Okay, sigh, got that out of my system. Thanks guys, for tolerating.
Sounds like the ds has his ducks in a row, SIS Kimberly. That's a good thing. I'm sorry he'll be a student longer than he anticipated, but I know he'll be so proud when he's all done. Tell him to hang in there.
Dd saw the Black Knight this weekend, too. She's 17 and loved it! She thought Heath Ledger did a great job and was super creepy. What a shame he's not here to see everyone appreciate his work.
I'm still cracking up over your Sun Chips fiasco. I agree with whoever said Sun Chips are healthy. And I eat pretty healthy stuff as a norm.
Glad the tootsies recovered and survived another walk, Carol. A major blowout would not be good for you right now. Whew that the dh didn't have to "show force" for too long.
Paula-good news on the dh stabilizing. It must've been quite the scare with the seizures over the weekend. And then a break to see Mamma Mia. I'm so glad you're taking care of yourself. I'm interested in that movie, too, but will probably wait till it's On Demand...
Hope the wisdom teeth extractions went okay, CathyCA. My oldest had hers done a couple of years ago and it was not fun or pretty. Now my little one is not at all interested in having hers removed. Luckily, she appears to only have one and it's not a threat to all that orthodontia we had done on her, so...
Hmmm. I have the munchies. Must've been the Sun Chips reference. I hope we have something good.
D1
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There's nothing wrong with SunChips ... geez.
Ingredients: whole corn, sunflower oil, whole wheat, rice flour, whole oat flour, sugar, and salt.
The only way they could be any better would be to be organic.
It is possible to take the whole "natural food" thing a bit too far ....
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Good Afternoon Jewels,
Had PT this morning at 8:30 then ran some errands. Been on the phone with our mortgage company since. Seems our taxes went up over $1500 so our escrow was short and our payment went up $304.82 a month. Found out when the loan was processed it was set at the land only price, not the actual price. Crap, that wasn’t too smart on their part. Oh well, just have to suck that up.
Anywhooo, so what’s up with the Jewels.
Carol – Man, I am soooo impressed with how much you’re walking. I imagine that it is easier when you go out with a group and talk the whole way. I could do more than 2 miles at a time I’m sure, but not so sure about 18 in one stretch. I’ve never walked the full trail, so that will be a good thing for us to do. I am so looking forward to your visit. Glad you didn’t have the hot spot issue on your walk this time. Hooray for Epsom salts.
I love Whidbey Island…well, that whole area actually. Doing a practice run will be fun, and you’ll do fine in your four person tent. Think of it as a big old slumber party outdoors like when you were a kid.
I remember having camp outs in out friends back yard, and we created a monster that we’d have to slay during the night. We made our weapons, too. After watching Creature Features, we’d head out to the backyard to ‘sleep’, and the plan was to wake up and slay the monster during the night. We never did wake up to slay the monster, but it was fun anticipating that we might.
Yeah that your dh was able to come home and enjoy a flank steak with you, your fil, and a friend.
We had a salmon salad last night. It was warm yesty and the dh wanted to eat light. Grilled the fish and then placed it over baby greens with cucumber. Yummers. Had a Pinot with it. Finished the meal off with some fresh berries for dessert.
Paula- I am relieved to hear Ed is doing bette with his stomach and seizures. You so deserved to get out of the house and unwind with dinner, a movie, and a little shopping after being cooped up inside. I so want to see Mama Mia. I’ve heard friends and my sisters all say they just loved the musical stage version.
Cathy – I hope your son as a bit more maturity under his belt as well. Having to redo classes is a big lesson in itself. Fingers crossed.
Your youngest should be back from the oral surgeon by now. I hope he isn’t too uncomfortable. Getting wisdom teeth out isn’t a big ole jump in a cool pond on a hot day that’s for sure.
D1- Seems we were both dealing with unexpected money expenditures. WTF on the cost of those garments? I hope that at least they are better than what you had…more comfortable.
Damn that Tamox! I don’t think I’d like being on the edge like that, but then I wouldn’t have a choice would I? Were you wheepy with your periods? Maybe it accentuates menstrual symptoms?
I thought they were healthy too especially when compared to regular chips and stuff. I’m so going to eat them again to make sure that was the problem ‘cause I so love Sun Chips.
OK, that’s just wrong that both you and I now have the munchies. I am so getting in my car to buy some Sun Chips.Has anyone else noticed that they smile at things these days that they don't know they would have really paid attention to before. I smile at the sound of birds singing, at interesting looking bugs crawling across the sidewalk, new leaves sprouting on the baby tree outside of my window, people zipping in and out of traffic, uncomfortable situations I would have avoided before, and at the thought of all who I am blessed to know. Thanks for making me smile.
Walking on Sunshine,
SIS Kimberly
TTFN
PS I bought new furniture for my office yesterday. I am sooo stoked. -
Hi Gals. Checking in tonight and glad to see everyone is doing well.
D1: That sucks that insurance won't cover your "garments"! Do you have a health savings account? We do one each year b/c our dental insurance sucks. We upped the amount for 2008 since we knew there'd be additional medical stuff for me. It's been very helpful.
Carol: Ditto on being impressed with your walking. I am so focused on work and the kids I know my exercising has not even been close to par. I really gotta get going on it.
So I had an exciting day. Went to work and during my 8:30 meeting started to feel strange. Kinda sweaty, hot, a little nauseous. I must've looked pretty crappy-- my coworkers said I was pale. Anyway, this is something I normally (before BC), would've blown off, but since everyone was freaked out I went to employee health who of course added to my then panic. I ended up at my onc's (since my PCP basically deferred to them--- sigh, the curse of the cancer patient). Long story short, my labs look awesome (all normal) and they found nothing wrong with me. My onc was on 'cation, but I saw one of the partners. Wasn't an infection, wasn't my heart; so he relaxed me a little bit. He sent me home to chill out. But all the hoo-ha messed with my brain a little and I started to "go there" panicking that something was coming back or I was gonna have a heart attack or something. Geez, the mind is a terrible thing!
Off to hang out with dh. Tomorrow's my long day, and I want to rest up.
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Hi Ladies,
Okay, I could use some "walking on sunshine" today. I seem to be at the other end of the happy face spectrum for some reason today. I don't know if its just the cumulative effects of rads, walking my hiner off both days this weekend or what. Seems as if this has been a bit of a pattern though, hmmm, maybe I should count the days since the last time I had an owly/weepie day. I knew that keeping a diary of sorts would come in handy for something. Okay, I'm blaming it on hormones, never in my adult life have I felt that certain times of the month I'd be more sensitive then other times, but I think I'm starting to see a pattern. This could stop at any time and I'd be thrilled.
Looks like lots has been going on over the weekend, life is definitely not at a standstill for any of us, and I'd like to think that's a good thing.
D1, sorry to hear of the passing of your friend. A good reminder to all that being screened is so important. Oh, I'm looking forward to adding a colonoscopy to my doc visits in the future.
So 6 down and 4 to go or what? Did you not have a pedicure just a few weeks ago? I'd be chatting with that gal, seems like you've been losing your nails at a rapid pace here the last couple weeks. Sounds like most come off without too much discomfort, you need your tootsies feeling decent even if they may not look all that great for cation.
So the ds made his way through two airports without ID. I still have not seen him, looks like tomorrow I'll be picking him up at his dads afterwork, will be going to the DMV to get a new license then its back to work for him. His summer hoorah has come to an end!
Julie, yeah on some good boating weather. I'm assuming your window for boating season is fairly tight (such as here in the PNW).
I have been to an all inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta, personally I have not had real good luck with "GI distress" in Mexico. Been to the Yucatan Peninsula many years ago as a graduation present ... got sick ... Mazatlan in my twenties ... got sick ... then PV, yep a touch of revenge once again. My last experience with Mexico was via a cruise ship, I would definitely do that again. Didn't eat anything shore side, drank a few Coronas though! I've had a ball on 3 different cruises, prefer the Carribean.
Norma, personally if TOM we're to rear its ugly head again, I'd be knocking down the door to get my plumbing removed. I've seen what ER+ cancer cells like to do and I'm not wanting to go through this again. Good luck with your decision making process ... I'm with you all the way ... my head is spinning on a regular basis trying to figure this all out, and hearing so many varied opinions.
Speaking of spinning, you can have the tea cups gal, it grosses me out just thinking of being on a spinning ride!
Sherry, your Aunt's story put a smile on my face.
Being fashionably challenged, if its not t-shirts and shorts I'm a bad resource, I think no matter what, you will be a beautiful mother of the bride. Just keep on smiling!!!
Cathy, yeah for being that boring patient. I am so ready to be that person again. Heck when I went to my physical last year I thought I was that boring patient, ... surprise, surprise!
Kathy, sounds as if your kids are doing well with their swimming. So do you have to get in the water as well, or are they on their own in the pool?
I liked your words to Carla, having kids see their parents happy is a gift in itself.
Jennifer, so glad you popped in ... bummer though that your knee is getting more irritated. Hope that the doc is able to ease some of your pain. I certainly could not imagine walking even short distances with a screwed up knee.
Hope that surgery on the office dog is successful. Did they say what may have caused the eye problem? Seems kinda strange that it would come on instantly.
YIKES on the weepy rad site, as I have typed away here I have aloed, put a cold saline compress on my chest and now I'm totally greased with Aquaphor,, its quite the site as I've chosen to go topless (and that's not my head), thankfully this puter is upstairs!!!
Kimberly, so did we get a chance to canvas the neighbors on the fencing project? Having neighbors to socialize with is a true beni. I've been in the same house since I was 19 and its so great to have neighbors (which are on top of us), that you enjoy being around. There is only one house that has had two different occupants (both little "old" ladies) which is right next door to us. She just sold and our new neighbors have totally gutted this three bedroom home, to make it a one bedroom. I mentioned to the new owners that our dogs will take a little getting use to them, meaning they should not bark every time they are out doors, she informed my that they we're planning on putting up a fence. I'm personally not to excited to have my peekaboo view out to the Fjord cut off. I think what has gotten my knickers in a knot is that they will only be living there about 4 months out of the year, and "dog-gone" it there has been wiener dogs at our house for the past 20 plus years. Should be interesting!
So morning magic, huh? Never heard it called that before!!!
Yep, your right, there are very few quiet moments when we're walking. I've met quite a few people, its interesting to hear what brings them out to walk. Needless to say that Ginny and I have had quite the chats as well. When I'm by myself, I cheat and use my Ipod to entertain myself.
So you've been to Whidbey? My trips up there have been for work only to the Naval Air Station. We're camping at Fort Ebey, I guess the walks go along the water for the most part. I don't know about slaying the monster, but my thought is 4 gals (myself with wicked hot flashes), well hydrated and will have to pee at various times, we'll probably be like Norma's sons sleepover and lucky to get any sleep. I think I'll be sure to pack a Lorazepam to knock myself out.
Paula, timing wise its probably a good thing that your out of school right now and are able to be at home with Ed. I'm glad that you we're able to get a break and do something to take your mind off of things for atleast a short period of time. The movie sounds like a kick.
Okay, call me naïve but I can't figure out "IYKWIM"!
Kathy, just refreshed and see that you had a bit of an anxiety bout today, hey I think that there is something in the air, D1 was teary, I'm in a funk (didn't even want to go out to dinner as the dh suggested tonight), and you had heck of a scare. Glad to hear that your labs looked okay. I'm so looking forward to going to CA, seems the mojo in the air is a bit better there!!!
Okay, sorry for the marathon, I need to start on some more thank you's for some 3 day donations.
I say bring on tomorrow as I could use a new day!
Night all, Carol
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Tina, thanks so much for the advice on the hot flashes!
To be quite honest with you Ladies, I like chemo so much better then tamoxifen! I cant sleep with all the hot flashes. The mood swings are crazy now I am worried I am going to die, and from day one I really didnt worry about my cancer and now with Tamoxifen I am worrying alot, and that is not good. Its a sin to not trust and believe in the Lord, and worrying is just stupid cause you cant control things so why worry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take me off these drugs..........!
Sis Kim you are always uplifting me!!!
SheShe - Ms. Sherry you look so pretty and thanks for all the prayers, Lord knows I need them.
Julie you too pumpkin, thanks for the kind words and praying for me.
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Just another manic monday.... that's my theory as the cause of our various funks and hoo-has
Hope tomorrow brings sunshine to the Jewel World!CathyCA- how'd the ds do with the wisdom teeth?
D1- dang! What a pain that the insurance co. is sticking you with the bill for the compression garments. I think you handled it well--you're entitled to some tears. I'm thinking I might have thrown an all out hissy fit--THEN I would have cried!
Kimberly- new office furniture--how fun!
That reminds me... LJ13, how's the new DR furniture working out?
Kathy- whew! What a Monday for you! Glad everything checked out okay.
Carol- IYKWIM= if you know what I mean... In other words, we got a head-start on the morning magic. IYKWIM
LilWarrior- don't be so hard on yourself with the worrying... it reminds you to keep praying! We're all works in progress. ((HUGS)) At least cyber-hugs don't add to the hot flashes!!
Need to hit the hay. Have a county emergency response drill in the morning. It is the first one that involves my students... should be interesting.
Nite all, Paula
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Well, what a bummer to hear we had manic monday blues and anxiety going on for Carol, Kathy, and D1. I am not able to sleep, so thought I'd check in and see what was up besides me.
Kathy, I am so releived that everything was fine. Sounded like you were ready to faint...clammy and all. Had you eaten? Sometimes low blood sugar can cause that. I'm sorry you went to that dark place. I know how to make home made weapons for protection against those monsters in the dark, although you have to be awake to use them.
I'm glad you've figured out that the wheepies come with your cycle, Carol. Sounds like you, Dana, and D1 are all having quite to time with crazy hormones.
I turned in my letter with neighbors' signatures today. We'll see. Our response was due by July 25th.
Why would someone want to put up a fence in such a beautiful area? It is crazy that some people want to hide behind their fences instead of being seen by the neighbors. And turn a three bedroom into a one bedroom? What is up with that? That's not going to do anything for resale value for sure. Your poor weiner dogs are not going to like being fenced out of their neighborhood by those interlopers. I can sick my HOA on them.
D1, BTW, I didn't go out and get those Sun Chips. I decided to work my way through the craving. It worked. What did you decide to munch on after your post?
Dana, I'm so sorry that the Tamox is being such a PITA. I hope that it is shrinking tumors like crazy so that you can at least know the se's are worth it. ((((HUGS)))
Paula, Ed must have been feeling really good, eh? IYKWIM?
Good luck with the drill this morning. I'm sure your students will do great. Afterall, they had you as their teacher.
OK, I'm going to try to get some shut eye.
Nite Nite, SIS Kimberly
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Aaahhh, what a good nights rest can do for a gal. I put on my big girl panties this morning and decided that its going to be a much better day. So far, so good!!! The nurse looked at my red chest this morning and said that I actually look like I've been taking good care of the area, that in itself made me feel better.
Paula, thanks for the education, IYKWIT !!! Learning the puter jargon has been very new to me the past 9 months. I used to not even log onto a puter except every few days to check out my e-mail which was usually nothing more than junk.
Kimberly, our latest night owl? So the new neighbors are moving to the area from Bainbridge Island (a bit more of a uppity community, even Kent admits to that and he grew up there). They chose the house because its right across the street from the marina where they moor a 40+ boat. I asked about making this 3 bedroom to a 1 and she said if they have somebody over they can sleep over on the boat. Hmmmm, who knows maybe we've found our new best friends, cruising on a 40 footer could be fun!!!
Gotta catch up with the guys here at work, Carol
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Hi girls - well, the dh woke up feeling "yucky" this morning so he's home today instead of at work. He was hoping to go in at 1:00, but still doesn't feel great. We're not sure if it's from his antibiotics or what - he is so rarely sick, it's unusual. He has a meeting he has to attend tonight at 6:30, so hopefully he'll be feeling better by then.
We had another day on the boat on Sunday - yippee!! It was very nice - just me and dh. We anchored in one of the coves and floated on the rafts for a while - so relaxing!
D1 - I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. I hope your fond memories will help you get through the sadness. I'm having issues with insurance also - just got a bill for $430 from my surgery in DECEMBER!! It was for additional pathology on the tissue and they're saying it's "not a covered service" - hello??!!! Apparently my surgeon's office labeled it as "consultation" and they say that's not covered. Makes no sense to me.
Norma - I can totally relate to the "non-sleeping" sleepovers! My ds and his friends rarely sleep - or are up VERY late! I fondly remember all of the ones I attended or hosted when I was that age, though, and I just remember how much fun we had. Okay - I am a HUGE roller coaster fan - where is Cedar Point? I don't so much enjoy the spinning rides - you can have those!
Carol - I'm WORN OUT reading about all of your walking - I can only imagine how tired your tootsies are!! I so admire your determination! Glad dh didn't have to stay in Long Beach too long. I'm surprised your ds was able to get through the airports without his driver's license - glad he was, though! Happy to hear you're having a better day today - I can relate and I'm not taking anything or going through rads!
Cathy - thanks for the pointers on the all-inclusives. I'm still researching at this point - I'll keep your tips in mind! I hope your ds's wisdom teeth surgery went okay.
Kathy - glad you enjoyed your weekend with your mom. My "to-do" list is getting rather large this week - I have my exchange surgery next week (the 29th) and we start school on the 12th - two weeks after. I have several things I have to get done and submitted before my surgery so I don't have to worry about it. I also hope to get over to school at least one day this week to clean/straighten up my classroom. I'll be taking ds with me so he can work off some of his debt.
So glad to hear you checked out okay after not feeling so hot at work!
Jenn - WOOOOHOOOOO for you - done with rads!!! I hope you see continued improvement in your rads area. I sure hope your knee gets better for you. Sure sounds like you're keeping busy!
Kimberly - thanks for the address list! Glad your son is getting things in order for finishing school. My sis is going through that right now with her 25-yr old step-son. He had started, stopped, started, stopped, several times - then got into some trouble and moved away to live with his mom the last year. Things weren't going well there lately for him, so he moved back with my sis and her dh - he just got accepted to a college in OK and will be moving there in the next couple weeks. They're hoping he's finally back on track!
Good for you getting some curriculum stuff done - I started revising my syllabi last night, but got side-tracked - again!! Hope to get to it again tonight. Sorry you had trouble sleeping last night - I did too, but it was b/c of a 3-month old puppy in my bed and no other reason!!
Paula - I'm glad to hear that Ed is doing better - I hope you haven't had to deal with any more seizures. I want to see Mamma Mia!!! I asked dh if he would see it w/me and he said, "Well, maybe on dvd." I've decided if any of my friends go to see it at the theatre, I'll be tagging along!
LJ - I ditto your thoughts - Sun Chips are healthy!!! Love ‘em!
Well, girls - better get moving. I'm supposed to be getting ready for a yard sale with my sil this weekend, but I'm not sure I'm going to have time to get it all ready. School work is starting to take precedence with my upcoming surgery. Ds starts football camp tomorrow too, so things are going to start getting a little hectic around here!
Hope everyone has a good Tuesday!!
Julie
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How'd it get to be Tuesday already? This getting back to normal stuff really makes the time fly.
LJ, you crack me up. Keep that good info (along with your dry wit) comin'!
We've been screwed around with escrow before, too, SIS Kimberly. It's such a bite because it doesn't get you any closer to owning your home outright, but you have to pay it. $300 a month is a chunk of change, imo, sucks.
Yeah, and I need to second your feelings about Carol's walking. That IS impressive, Carol! Keep up the good work.
Salmon salad sounds good. I, on the other hand, am not going to be as healthy tonight. I just made lasagna rolls (lasagna noodles spread with ricotta, spinach and prosciutto then rolled up and served on a béchamel bed with marinara on top), and will whip up some roasted sweet potatoes with garlic and rosemary to go with a fruit salad (which is not our dessert-it counts as a veggie!). For dessert, we have a peach kuchen the dh made before he left for his latest round of travel. Luckily, dh managed to catch an earlier flight home tonight, so he'll be here around 8:30. Then tomorrow he heads out again till Friday night. Glad its him and not me.
The cost of those garments was for the original corset thing I wear and a custom sleeve. The retailer from whom I purchased it is VERY slow on insurance filings. Now I understand why-they don't participate! Grrr. I saw my legu today who said she'd call them to see if she can get me any relief. I'll take what I can get. It does make me want to redouble my efforts to find a cheaper alternative, though.
I have never been weepy in my life (although when I do manage tears, I have the dh in the palm of my hand-I should really figure out how to use that to my benefit). I blame this all squarely on the Tamox.
KathyL-we've already blasted through our HSA for this year. We maxed it out, too, with all the bc exps. I think they are great plans (although I'm not sure I completely understand how ours works-I just present the special card until people tell me it's been rejected!).
Holy moly, Kathy! I'm reading about your surprise visit to the onc. I'da been scared half to death. I think this cancer stuff is going to dog all of us for much longer than we think.
Yeowch, Carol, a weepy day for you, too (good thing you didn't call, we'da been wailing at each other over the phone). I'll bet some of that rad fatigue is starting to nip at your heels. The exercise will help you, but I'm not sure you can totally avoid it. I found that at about 3p I needed to just sit and stare into space for about a half hour and then I'd get a second wind to get me to bedtime at 9. Give yourself some space.
Yep, 6 down, 4 to go. Last night I chopped my surviving nails off REAL short, so you can't really tell which ones have jumped ship-except for the big ones, they're nasty. It looks like I may lose three more eventually, but there's my one pinkie, hanging on for dear life!
I'm going with "if you know what I mean," Carol.
Way to follow up on the dr furniture, Paula. So, LJ, are there angels, yet?
And there's the answer on IYKWIM from Paula! I think I should get a prize for getting it right!!!!!
OMG, SIS Kimberly, I was SOOOOO bad. Dh had made some homemade trail mix (basically that chex cereal mix without nuts and very spicy), so I dipped in to that. Luckily, I measured out a cup for myself and didn't allow seconds. Then I moved on to a G&T to put out the fire in my mouth...
Yay, Julie, more time on the boat! I'm so glad you're getting some r&r in on your boat before your surgery, just in case you don't feel up to it afterward. Maybe you'll get some more time in on it this weekend.
I hope you're able to get your insurance thing straightened out. Like a path report shouldn't be covered. Give us a break.
I'm going to wrap up now. My plumber is due here any minute and I don't want to lose this tome while I'm off showing him the plumbing problems.
Later.
D1
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Ds made it through his oral surgery with no problems. He was frustrated yesterday that he wasn't allowed to eat solid foods and is back at work today. He has to take antiobiotics for five days as a precaution and has a recheck on Monday.
Went "topless" for the first time out in public today. I've gotten tired of wearing caps when I exercise, so decided for yoga I'd just go without. No one went running from the room screaming, so I may try it again.
Dh and I went to the county fair this afternoon. I like to look at the animals, the home craft exhibits and all the product demos. Our local high school has a Future Farmers of America program. They have a day camp for the elementary age kids to help out, so when ours were younger we always went to the fair so they could "visit" the animals they knew and watch the high schoolers compete.
D1 -- ouch on the insurance. I hate when I think something is covered and it's not. We got hit with that yesterday with the oral surgery. My son has five wisdom teeth and since we had hit our maximum coverage for the year, that extra tooth was an extra $400+.
Kimberly -- sorry to hear about your extra tax bite. It won't help with the impound account, but since property has gone down in value, if you think you're accessed too high for the current market, you can appeal with your county to get it lowered. That would help for the future.
Kathy -- glad everthing came back normal, but what a scare. Who knows what crazy things our bodies sometimes do to us.
Carol -- good to read that you are feeling better today. I found rads to be more emotionally draining than chemo, so you may be experiencing that. Just having to go every stinkin' day makes your whole life revolve around cancer treatment. But, the time goes amazingly fast. I'm not even two weeks out and already feel pretty much back to normal. There's still a little bit of pink in the boost area, but that's about it.
Dana -- drat that tamox is giving you problems. Have you talked with onc about whether there's anything you should do to combat the SEs?
Paula -- hope the drill went well. I'm sure your students were awesome.
Julie -- your boating adventure sounds so relaxing. I love being in the water. There's just something about it that is so soothing.
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Good Evening Jewels,
Well, another busy day for me. Went to pick up my shirts at the cleaners then met a friend for lunch at this cute place called the Flower Garden. There’s an Inn, a café, and a nursery with gift shop. Then we just talked up a storm at her house for awhile before I headed out to Aaron Brothers to get another frame and then to Target to get bird food for our bird feeder and a few other things. I did some laundry, worked a bit on curriculum as far as cleaning out binders and getting out stuff I can use for the study skills class, and am pooped. When I read this, it doesn’t seem like I did enough to poop myself out. What the heck is that about? Oh yeah, I didn’t sleep well last night. That’s right.
So, I am heading to Tahoe tomorrow, so I won’t be online for a few days. I have exactly one month today before I have to be back at work. Kathy, I remember your count down. Once I’m back in the swing it will be fine…it’s just anticipation biting at my heels that I’m feeling right now.
So Carol, I am so glad Mr. Sandman gave you an extra sprinkling of sleepy dust last night. He must have forgotten to stop my house all together.
I do believe that being the wonderful neighbor you are that getting to know these new neighbors won’t be difficult at all, and cruises on their 40 footer is right around the corner. Maybe a little BBQ invite might be in order.
Julie – So sorry your dh is ill. Hope he made it to his meeting tonight. At least you had a good day on the boat before he started feeling crappy.
I get side tracked a lot working on curriculum…it’s my avoidance technique that allows me to get caught up in other things. HeeHee. When it gets down to it, like August, I’ll get really serious and really buckle down and do the nitty gritty stuff, but for now I’m organizing and seeing what I have, want to keep or toss, and thinking about how I want to use it and in what context.
How are those puppies besides keeping you up being in the bed?
Good luck with the insurance thing. I think your doc should resubmit with a different code so it will be covered.
LJ13 – I TOTALLY agree with you that it sounds crazy for me to be avoiding Sun Chips. They really do have some good stuff in it. I believe it was the sugar in it that made me feel so foggy. I’ve not had sugar in so long that it got to me. I am going to try it again just to be sure that was the problem because I really like them, which can be a problem as I can eat the whole bag in a few days. For all you Sun Chip lovers, eat some for me. BTW, I saw a special on how Sun Chips were made. It was very interesting.
D1- Glad your blue Monday mood didn’t follow you into Tuesday.
Spicy chex mix and a G and T…I can see how that might work together. Only a cup isn’t being BAD!
Your dinner sounds fabulous to me. What is a kuchen…and whoohoo on the dh making it.
I made a lasagne the other night using sliced zuccinni from our garden as the noodles. No Bechlame sauce, but I did do an organic Marinara with onion, mushrooms, ground buffalo, and basil. I used organic cottage cheese instead of ricotta. It was awesome.
So, like Jules, I hope you get some help with the insurance and get coverage on those garments. I can’t get over the fact that se’s like le, which require a compression garment in order to prevent serious complications aren’t covered. But you can bet your bippy that once you’re at the doc’s office or the hospital with complications, that will be covered. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to pay for the prevention?
Geez Louise!
Plumbing issues, eh? Hopefully it was an easy fix.
Cathy – Glad the ds got through his surgery without any issues.
Good for you for going to Yoga topless. Freeing isn’t it?
With my travels this week and next, I won’t be making it to yoga or my gym for two weeks. I’ll have to do lots of walking ala Carol.
I did call the county and our assessment went way up the first year, than down last year, and up a bit this year. We are at $324,000, and we paid $350,000.
I love county fairs, too. The animals, the county exhibits, the arts and crafts etc…There is something so ‘small town’ about a county fair.
Well, I’ll check back in tomorrow morning if I’ve got time, otherwise it won’t be until Friday night or Saturday morning.
Have a fabulous rest of the week gals,
SIS Kimberly
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Good Morning Jewels,
Sheshe - I like that story about your aunt, too! I am not sure about flaxseed oil, but I have been told by my onc and the dietician at the cancer center that flaxseed is ok to use. I think flaxseed is one of those things that you hear are good and bad. Some studies say it can help estrogen + bc, others say not.
I have noticed my bone pain in my leg is getting better. Hopefully yours will soon. I think the farther out from my last chemo the better everything is getting!
Carol - Wow, I don't know how you could have done those too long walks in row. You are awesome! Sounds like all the training is good for you physically and emotionally. When do you get to go see Kimberly? Hope you are back to your chipper self. I think the rads do wear on you. How many do you have left? You've got to be getting close to the end.
Cathy - Glad ds's surgery went well. I am surprised he could be back at work the next day. My oldest was scheduled to have his out on Monday, but they said he would probably experience the most pain on Thursday and Friday and he is scheduled for a soccer camp in Pittsburgh on Friday. I ended up rescheduling till December. Let us know how his recovery goes this week. Were any of them impacted?
When you had your mammogram recently did they do it on your radiated breast? I was supposed to have mine done last week, but then they realized I wasn't far enough out of radiation to have it done. I found that I had more muscle pain in the radiated breast 6 weeks out from treatment. Just curious if you had it done how comfortable or uncomfortable it was.
Your youngest sounds like my oldest (17). It drives me crazy at times how much time they can spend playing video games. We have had an ongoing "conversation" since he was young on the effects of violence and video games. He of course things I am waaaaay off base on my thinking that it can have an effect on kids. He even took a class on it at school last year. Unfortunately the teacher (who is a priest and the leader of their debate team) seemed to have sided more with him! I tease him a lot about his "virtual" friends. I have always been a bit "over the top" about internet safety. He likes to tease me about talking with all of you, especially when I get a package from my ps!
I like going to the fairs, too. Ours don't start up till August, though.
Kathy - Glad you had a nice visit with your mom. Scary reaction you had. I am glad it was nothing. Maybe you were just over heated or something?
Jenn - Congrats on being done with rads!!! I missed you on my trip to Indianapolis! It would have been great to meet up with you. What have they found with your knee? What kind of back surgery did you have to have? I think you will find the recovery from the rads is pretty quick.
D1 - 6 nails - that really sucks. Mine are still hanging on I can't tell if I will lose two or just the one. Thankfully the kids hang out in our basement for sleepovers. I tell them I don't care if they sleep or not as long as I can't hear them! The older I get, the more I need my sleep! I hate insurance crap! Thankfully I haven't had anything denied except my wig.
Kimberly - Have fun with your girlfriend. That will be a nice get away I am sure. I have already started the tamox. Jury is still out on the ooph. That stinks about your escrow account. We moved in to our house 3 years ago and dh decided he didn't want to have an escrow account. We have a rental property that we did the same thing on, but that payment is much smaller. I think it is much more painful to write the check for two big payments a year. Would much rather have it with our house payment. I love salmon. I try to eat it at least once a week. Could do it two or three times a week if the family would let me!
I think I must have missed what you were getting signatures for? HOA business?
I can definitely relate to your walking on sunshine comment. I can't believe how much "Isn't it just a gorgeous day/evening" comes out of my mouth. Life IS Good!
I hope you get a chance to log on before you leave - I sent you a pm.
Paula - So glad dh has found some relief. That has got to help him mentally, too. Good for you on going and getting some time for you with your friends. That would be very cool if both our boys took a visit. We are having a hard time trying to fit in even close visits right now. It seems like summer is going to be over before you know it.
Dana - I hope you get some relief soon. Have they talked about an anti-depressant at all?
Julie - I am with you on remembering how much fun we had doing the sleepovers at that age. And even a little older being able to go out and party and then be at work first thing in the morning. Wish I had some of that energy these days. Cedar Point is in Sandusky Ohio which is west of Cleveland. Definitely one of the parks with the most roller coasters. When we lived in North Carolina, we knew people who took a weeks vacation up there! Wow - your schools start back early.
I got a wonderful present from my ps the other day. A gift bag of lovely scrubs, lotions and body washes, etc. from Pamper Party Divas. It came in a bag decorated with pink and brown. Thanks, ps. I love it!
On Sunday we went and did the calendar shoot with the photographer for our calendar project. Oh my gosh, did we have fun. I think she took about 500 pictures. We are supposed to start working on the layout next week.
I had mentioned earlier about a guy from our town who had invented a machine to target cancer cells. They are researching it at MD Anderson. That is where they will do the human trials as well as our cancer center (hopefully). He just got the ok to try it on human blood last week. It's very exciting news around here. His foundation is one of the places we are donating our funds to.
Have a great day everyone!
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Hi Jewels, sneaking a quick peak here at work, the boss has me out and about driving today. While my truck is being unloaded thought I'd canvas the veteran rad queens ...
So did any of you have the burn go clear through to your backside? I questioned my doc today, asked about the red patch on my back, and was informed that its the exit beam causing the skin irritation. Oh Joy! I'll be soon just jumping into a tub of Aquaphor!!! 23 down, 12 to go ... I decided yesterday that golf this weekend is out, due to the tightness of my skin. I should still be able to walk though, right now the redness under my arm is not bothering me when I walk.
I'm pretty hyped for afterwork, getting this ala natural brown/gray hair colored back to what I've sported for the past 10+ years. Figure even though I have goofy cowlicks, I'll feel better looking in the mirror and not seeing the gray.
Hoping for some time to shout out tonight, my guilt of being on-line when the dh is home will just have to pass as he'll probably beat me home tonight. Until then, be well my friends ....
Carol
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The dining room set is doing great ! We've been having lots of fun rummaging around the clearance bins of Bed Bath and Beyond getting deals on tablecloths, placemats, etc.
The cats are loving it too.
(Little furry bast***ds ...)
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PALady -- My son's teeth were definitely impacted. The bottom two broke (or were broken) being taken out and two of the top three were huge with a fully intact root. He asked to keep them for souvenirs, so I've seen them. He does pizza delivery for a few hours a day, so I told him he could work as long as he's not taking any pain medication. Other than a couple Advil right after surgery, he's had nothing but the antibiotics and is going strong. I'll let you know if that changes over the next few days.
Yes, the mammo was on the radiated breast. I had it the afternoon I finished rads and didn't have any more discomfort than I normally do for a mammo. However, I had a week break between boosts because of the 3-day weekend and going for ds's college orientation, so I had started healing pretty well. I go back in October for both breasts in an attempt to get me back on schedule.
Carol -- I had some pain on my back, but don't remember it turning pink. Good advice is to lube anything and everything that might be in the path of radiation. The extra moisture can't hurt your skin.
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