Sports Day

Well, today marks the end of my son's career as a junior football player. Next year he will start high school. He mentioned to me in the car last night that he is really "bummed" that football is over. Thankfully he did not have any major injuries this year. I fear for his life when he plays! LOL He is not a very big kid. My husband says "thank god he is fast" (meaning he can run from these big boys) Over the past years he has had so much fun despite the fact that they have won very few games. Hitting, kicking, being stepped on, thrown to the ground, pancaked to the ground, hit in the ribs, hit in the back, abrasions, cuts, black and blue marks, ankle pain, leg pain, back pain, pushing. Why does he love this sport so much? I am not really sure. I guess only a football player can answer that. I am headed to the last game of the season this morning. (my husband will be jumping for joy that his football coaching career is over. Not that he hasn't enjoyed it, but it has taken so much of his free time over the past several years, he is ready to retire). Unfortunately, the team has not won a game this season, lets cross our fingers and hope for the best (actually we need to pray that they win. hahaha)

Another huge part of our family is the swimming pool. Over the past 9 years we have endured hundreds of hours sitting in a 90 degree sauna,sweating,waiting for our daughter to swim in a race. Let me paint a picture for you. Warm ups at 7:00 am, meet starts at 8:00 am, daughter's first race is at 10:00. She is in the water for approximately 26 seconds for a 50 freestyle. Wait another hour for her to swim. Then there are relays. Meet ends at 12:30. You get the picture. She is in high school swimming right now, so thankfully the meets are short, only about 2 hours. Today is a relay only meet held at the pool where she is a club swimmer. It is a fun meet for the girls. We are headed there this afternoon.

Enjoy your Saturday!

ps I was getting tired of the old look of my blog, so I needed to change it. Hope you like it!

5 days until chemo starts!

Six Weeks Postop

New Clinical Cancer Center, Froedert Hospital

I am six weeks out of my main surgery, four weeks from the second surgery. It is hard to believe that that much time has passed, although some days seemed very long. When the surgeon's nurse told me during my preop consultation that I was not going to feel like myself until about 5-6 weeks out of surgery I thought to myself "nah, not me." I do have to say, she was right. Not that I have not been feeling good, but just not myself (tired, not sleeping that good, etc.) I am really feeling like my old self this week. I went in for some physical therapy yesterday on my arms and I can't tell you how much better my arms and upper body feel. The muscles in your back and arms get tight and shorten when they are not used as much, and once she worked me over, I really felt good. For the most part, this really has not been all that terrible. Recuperating from the surgery was not that bad. The pain was minimal. Tiny things annoyed me more than anything; seams in a camisole that hit me in the wrong place, stitches from the drains when they were in, seat belts that hit you right across your chest, pain in my armpits from reaching up in the cabinet for dishes, not being able to use my Pampered Chef apple corer to core an apple (I didn't have the strength to push down on the darn thing), pain in my arms when trying to close my trunk on my car. I thought it would be worse. Despite the crappy hospital exerperience I had, the crappy care from my breast surgeon whom I have fired (long story, don't want to go there) and the major complication from the surgery with an added surgery, I really feel lucky and am grateful that I am where I am today! I feel very confident in the medical team that I have now as I move forward. I am in the hands of a great plastic surgeon and oncologist and moving on to the next phase of treatment.

I need to add another thank you to all of my friends and family who are supporting me! I couldn't be doing this without all of you!

Hair!

For those of you who know me, my hair is sacred. I never leave the house until it has been shampooed, dried, gelled and sprayed. This whole losing my hair thing is going to be pretty traumatic for me. I am envisioning a major melt down when it happens. I intend to shave me head when it starts to happen. Everyone has told me "shave it so you are taking control, don't let it take control of you." Ok, well we will see if that strategy works. I don't envision myself as being a beautiful bald woman, and I doubt that most you will ever see me bald. I am not just not that kind of person. I may eat my words, but that is the feeling that I have right now. I have been putting it off and dreading the wig shopping, but I did go yesterday and meet with Lisa in Menomonee Falls for a "wig consultation." She works out of Froedert Hospital and the Small Stones shop and also has a salon in the Falls on Main Street near our business, so I ran over there during my lunch hour to meet with her.
I only tried on 3 wigs! She has been a hair stylist for over 20 years and being a 10-year breast cancer survivor herself has gotten into the wig portion of styling. I would highly recommend her. She was very sweet and knows her stuff. I thought it was going to be difficult, but I really did not have too much trouble finding something that I liked. She is going to order the wig in the right color (trying to match my hair color as much as possible). I will see her next week for a "fitting." It was pretty weird trying on hair! I have worn the same style for several years, and it was just really strange to see me in a different hair style and different colors. That being said, I won't tell you what it looks like, but you may be surprised!!!! LOLOL Living on the edge, why not???? Change is good!!

Carrot, Egg and Coffee

Today was actually the first day I really could not think of anything to post. Yeah, me with nothing to say, unbelievable isn't it??!
I read this email tonight when I got home from work and thought this was the perfect thing to post on my blog. Thanks MJ!

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of
coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how
things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it
and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed
as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she
placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed
ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots
out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a
bowl.Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her
daughter,she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and
noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg
and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter
smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it
mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity:boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in
strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling
water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer
shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the
boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were
unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they
had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your
door,how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain
and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?
Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial
hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my
shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff
spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the
very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases
the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their
worst,you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate
yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an
egg or a coffee bean?

The Scar Project/Photos

Below is a link that is posted on the Komen message boards. It a black and white photo shoot of women who have survived breast cancer. There are no words to even describe the feeling that this photo shoot portrays. I found them to be beautiful!

**If you are sensitive to nude photos or do not want to see images of scars and breastless women this may not be the post for you to view.

http:www.davidjayphotography/TheSCARProject

Thought for The Day

True friendships are characterized by grace,truth, forgiveness, unselfishness, boundaries,care and love in gigantic and mutual proportion.
~Luci Swindoll~
from the book Laughter and Latte, a Joyful Inspiration for Women (thank you Debbie!)

This and That

Things on the to-do list:
1. Clean up the horrible mess from sewing for the last several weeks. Threads, pins, patterns, fabric everywhere.
2. Wash. Why must they try something on and then throw it in the wash? Don't they know I just fold it and put it right back in the basket. LOL
3. Make a trip to JoAnnes and get fabric for some scarves and hats for my soon to be bald head. :( (can you tell I am dreading this?)
4. Vacuum the mounds of dog hair in the house.
5. Get book club book.
6. Take a nap!!!! (I am tired today)
7. Download Homecoming photos and order.
8. Pick up prescriptions as I never got there the other day.
9. Buy cat food. Why are cats so damn finicky? She eats the food one day and then turns her nose up at me the next day as if to say "You've got to be kidding. You expect me to eat THAT." Believe me, I have tried every cat food out there. She can eat the dried stuff if she is going to be that fussy. I am not running a restaurant here. LOL