Zuppe Italiano

My friend Cathy recently dropped off a batch of yummy Sausage Tortellini soup her personal chef made (that would be her husband) and it prompted me to dig out this old recipe for a soup I make that is very, very similar. I love the flavor of this soup. It is very filling and goes a long way.

Zuppe Italiano
1-1/2-2 pounds of Italian sausage (I use one package of Johnsonville Sweet Sausage).
olive oil, if needed
2 medium onions, chopped (I use one)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use one)
5 c. Beef Stock (or vegetable)
3-1/2 to 4 c. chopped tomatoes (I use the two largest cans of petite diced tomatoes)
1-1/2 c. of dry red wine
3/4 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 medium green pepper, chopped (I use red or yellow)
2 c. shell or bow-tied noodles (or one package of frozen tortellini)
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese for garnish

Prick the sausages with a fork and place in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the sausages,cool, remove casing and slice into 1/4" pieces. Saute in large pot. Remove when browned leaving 3 Tbs of fat in the pan (add olive oil if necessary). Add onion and garlic and saute 5 minutes. Add tomatoes,stock,wine,herbs and reserved sausages. Simmer for 25 minutes. Add peppers, zucchini and noodles. Cook for 25 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with grated cheese.

Dinner with my Sisters

Last night I met up with my "sisters" Connie and Sara. While we have emailed, texted and chatted on the phone lately we hadn't found the time to get together for dinner. It was nice to talk in person as well as eating yummy food. This was my first time to Stir Crazy. We opted to order off the menu instead of having our food woked by the chefs. We all decided we wanted to be waited on for dinner instead of having to make our own food. Connie and I ordered the Almond Crusted Curry Chicken and Sara had a Beef Double Noodle Bowl. We also shared an order of potstickers. The food was great, although the chicken was a little spicy which didn't help us out with all of our hot flashes during the night. Imagine sitting at a table with 3 ladies who are asking "is it hot in here or is it because of the flaming woks that is seems hot in here?" LOL It must have been the flaming woks! It was great to see these ladies as they have given me much support during my journey! They are both lucky enough to be able to say "been there, done that" and I am closely following in their shoes.

A few people have asked me which puppy is ours in the puppy photos or how do we know which one will be ours. There is an actual science to puppy picking. We don't actually know until the day we go to pick our puppy (Roxey) up which one will be ours. We have 5th pick of the 6 female pups. By the time we get to the breeders only 2 will be left and we are able to pick from those 2 pups which one we would like. Doug and Pattie Kennedy are pretty well known for there puppies and most of them are spoken for before the pups are born and sometimes even before they are bred.
This is a great time to get a puppy as she will be able to hunt this fall already, which is why John was glad we at least had our name in for a puppy from this litter. Thankfully she had enough pups for us to get one. It is kind of ironic as this is the exact time we got Sunny 9 years ago. She was out hunting ducks her first fall when she was 9 months old. John's brother Rick just recently mentioned to me he remembers the first time they took her hunting! Great memories!!!


My next chemo is scheduled for next Wednesday!!!!!

Over the course of the past 6 months I have met quite a few breast cancer survivors in person, on the internet and through my blog. One of the people I recently met is linked to my family but not of my immediate family. Lynn was diagnosed with breast cancer about one month after me. She has had a journey that I don't even know all the details of, but in the course of her 40 young years had had over 50 surgeries and has even had a kidney transplant. Lynn had the same plastic surgeon as me. We had talked on the phone, exchanged Christmas cards and she even came to visit me in the hospital when I was last in. She herself was also in just recovering from a mastectomy when I was in. This past weekend Lynn ended up in the hospital with a urinary tract infection and has died from complications from her hospitalization. She leaves behind a husband of only several years and a 16 year old son. Please say a prayer for Lynn and her family!

She is the first person I have known with breast cancer that has died,although she didn't die from breast cancer.

Life is short,cherish every moment and never take anything for granted!

Puppies!!!!

We were out the door early today to go and visit the puppies at the breeders (Water Dog Specialties) Doug and Pattie Kennedy are the owners, and we got our dog Sunny through them 9 years ago. They specifically breed hunting dogs, both water and land. The Kennedy's breed Labradors. These puppies are fox red labs. Their coloring is a reddish color, similar to a golden retriever. Doug said the coloring of the puppies will change and they will get darker in color. They are beautiful dogs. The puppies are now 4 weeks old and just starting to eat dog food along with mom's milk. February 21st is the day the puppies will go out to new homes. Mom, Rhea, had 10 puppies in all, 6 females and 4 males. They are sooooo adorable!!

Honey Dijon Ranch Chicken

I am a pretty good cook, I will admit it. Over the past several months we have gotten so many delicious meals I haven't had to cook too much. I am getting back into the swing of things now that no one is knocking at my door anymore. hahaha
I am adding a new section on my blog that will include my favorite recipes.
Tonight I am grilling honey dijon ranch chicken breasts. This is my absolute favorite way to make chicken on the grill and is the most requested recipe from Natalie for chicken. I love this recipe because it contains items I always have on had and it is fast and easy. There are 2 ways to enjoy this chicken. Grill it and use on a sandwich, which we do most often, or slice it and put it over angel hair pasta. It is also great in a salad the day after. Enjoy!!!



Honey Dijon Ranch Chicken
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/3 c. orange juice
1/3 c. vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons of honey
1 envelope of ranch dressing (I only use 1/2 envelope)
Mix ingredients together and marinate chicken for several hours. Grill.
*I have already marinated the chicken for only 30 minutes and the flavor is still great!

Money!

Today I went to my favorite coffee spot, Caribou Coffee, to get a cup of coffee before heading over to get my oil changed in my car. I got a dollar bill for change and on the bill was a stamp that said "track me at wheresgeorge.com"
Ok.. any website intrigues me, so once I got home I logged on to this website to see what it was all about. If you enter a little bit of information about any kind of bill you can see just exactly where the bill has been and how long it took to get into your hands. This is what it said about my bill. " This bill has traveled 282 Miles in 173 Days, 13 Hrs, 48 Mins at an average of 1.6 Miles per day. It is now 282 Miles from its starting location." This bill was from Minnesota. Once you register the bill, and it leaves your hands you can see where the bill ends up. I don't think I will track this bill daily once it leaves my hand but it was kind of fun to see where my bill came from!

SUN!

I am excited! (and feeling good btw!) One of my New Years resolutions was to go on a a family vacation this year. With my health crisis, I strongly feel that a family vacation is in order. Natalie will be off to college in a few years and life is too short not to enjoy! (these were the arguments I used on the husband hahaha He finally caved in and sees my point I think) Despite the crappy economy and our medical bills, we are headed to Arizona for spring break. I have not been to Arizona in years and loved it when we were there last on a golfing vacation. I am using my medical transcription fund to get us there. And... I got a REALLY good deal on airfare!! I have been watching air fares for a few months, go up, go down, go up, go down. If you don't check them every day you may be missing out! In a matter of a few hours the price of a ticket (orbitz.com) went from $316 to $244 back up to $308 and even flight times disappeared and reappeared. I just happened to be checking AGAIN when I saw the $244 price and jumped on it(and that is for a nonstop flight, taxes included). I found a house (vrbo.com) in Cave Creek outside of Phoenix that looks great and perfect for our needs. Our needs being something with an inground pool(girls request), a decent TV( boys request), 3 bedrooms (kids hate to share) and out of the city (a must!) We aren't that picky. LOL It is something to look forward to help me get through this dreary January!

Funny for the Day!

WOMAN'S PERFECT BREAKFAST



She's sitting at the table with her gourmet coffee.



Her son is on the cover of the Wheaties box.



Her daughter is on the cover of Business Week.



Her boyfriend is on the cover of Playgirl.



And her husband is on the back of the milk carton.

Post chemo update

I hated being nauseous when I was pregnant,and I really was not even that sick. Well, chemo nauseau is worse! Even with the two meds my doc prescribed I have been sickish since Friday. I have another prescription for something else which I may try. I am feeling a bit better today. Yesterday I actually did nothing. I mean nothing. It was an effort to get myself dressed and moved to a chair. Besides the icky feeling in my stomach and the horrible taste in my mouth I am freezing cold, and then I am burning hot. Yes, the hot flashes have begun! Ughhhhh!

My beauty routine is getting easier by the day. I now have half of my eyelashes so putting mascara on the few eyelashes I have takes no time at all. Waaaaaaaaa! It really is quite ridiculous looking! I will continue to put mascara on my eyelashes even if I only have 3 left. LOL John said he didn't even notice. Welll... that's a man for you. They never notice anything.

Happy Sunday!

I know you are all on the edge of your seats waiting to hear from me and I bet some of you have been on my blog more than once checking on me. :)

Welllllll.......to start the day off I headed out in the snow and very cold temps in the dark only to "crawl" to the hospital with all the other cars out at that time of the day. Well... because of the snow and slippery conditions I think that the hired help was late getting in. I even made it in before the receptionist in the lab was there. Not quite the routine start that I usually have. Got checked in and waited until they called my name. One stick..... ack.... no good! Couldn't get a blood return.... crap! The lab tech puts a warm compress on my arm in hopes that some big fat vein will appear. ("Have you drank a lot of water?" she says. "It helps to hydrate your veins." What the heck, I am barely awake and breathing at 7 am with only a half a cup of coffee choked down on the ride in. ) She calls for her partner to give it a try. I knew this would be a success as I had this tech last week and she is GOOD! She got an IV line with no problem. I am sent on my way over to the day hospital. When I arrived to my dismay the other 2 people that had their labs drawn are still sitting in the waiting room. Not a good sign when the people ahead of you are still sitting and waiting. I head to the desk to check in. The receptionist here says "Hi Gail, back for another try this week?" Wow! She remembered who I am and that means that I have been there way too much if she now recognized me. LOL I plant my butt in a chair furthest away from the floor to ceiling windows that make up the entire outside wall of this building and they are no longer heating because of the budget cuts(that's a joke but could be true haha). The time is 8:05 am. Time passes, my hands and feet are no frozen solid and I get up to walk around and get my circulation going. The receptionist is talking to a co-worker about how cold it is. I mention that I feel like an ice cube and she runs to get me a warm blanket. Love those warm blankets! At 9:20 I hear my name. A nurse is headed my way with papers in her hand. "Is it a go?" I ask. "Yes" she says. YES!!!! YES!!! YES!!!!
I want to do cartwheels in the waiting room and give the nurse a hug I am so happy. I feel like I am on cloud nine heading in to get my toxic drug treatment. Now tell me if that isn't crazy I don't know what is!!!!!! All of a sudden I had 3 text messages from various friends wondering what is going on, one of them was "please tell me you are having chemo right now!" (one my "sisters" checking in on me.)My treatment was quick and painless. I left the day hospital at 11:30 and headed over to see my friend Connie at Small Stones who was working. She was almost excited as me that I was able to have chemo. (us "sisters" have this common bond. We understand each other like no one else. One of the blessings I have found in this journey--"sisters.") I stopped for lunch (I won't say what is was. I was ravenous having not eaten breakfast. It wasn't the most healthy but I will blame that on the steroids making me so hungry). Nap time for me! I am feeling great now! Just incredibly thankful and happy that I was able to get through another chapter.
ONE MORE TO GO!!!!! WHOOHOOOO! YIPPPEEEE!!!!!! Stay tuned for more updates. Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes!

Crazzzzyyyyy!

"What is wrong with me?" "Why do I feel like this?" "I'm going crazzzzy now!"

These are the words from a song called Disturbia that I like to listen to, not because of the words but because of the upbeat music. I actually have to smile when I hear those words because sometimes I am going crazy during all of this. LOL

January 12th was my 4-month anniversary! My surgery anniversary. Since my diagnosis I have been to a hospital/dr's office 30 times, been in the hospital 11 days and have had 3 surgeries. I have seen over 35 different doctors both in and out of the hospital (that includes residents and interns), I have had 2 of 4 chemo treatments, 2 treatments were discontinued because of an allergy to the chemo drugs, 2 treatments were canceled due to low white blood cell counts. My bill from the hospital for my physician charges is 10 pages long. I get at least 2-3 mailings from my insurance company daily. I have made friends with the pharmacist at Target who knows me by name. My hair has fallen out, grown back some and fallen out again. I have not shaved my legs or arms in over 2 months. I love my recliner. My eyelashes are falling out. I have tried more drugs in the past 4 months than in my whole lifetime. I have to carry a yearly pocket planner now. I have my doctors numbers programmed into my cell phone. I haven't gone to get my hair cut in months. I look forward to the mocha coffee from the coffee dispenser at the Breast Care Clinic. I now only have to wash my hair/wig every other week. I have had more needle sticks than I can count. I can now find my way around the clinical cancer center without asking. Some of the nurses at the day hospital know me by name. I have yet to wear a bra since my surgery. My head gets cold at night. I have had more stitches than I care to think about. I have 2 more surgeries to look forward to until my reconstruction is complete. I have cried, I have laughed and I have screamed!!! Crazy you say! Ahhhhhh yes, some days I can say I am!

My Project 365 kit arrived on Friday. The above photo is the photo I snapped today on my way to work. I sort of feel like I am on that train track going on and on and on. I think this project will get me to be more creative in my picture taking. So far I have been keeping up on a daily basis. Some days I don't think I have anything to take a photo of but then something comes to me. I am enjoying doing this so far. It is a nice distraction for me!

We are expecting some snow tonight with below zero weather coming up later this week. My kids are planning on a "cold day" from school. I laughed when I heard this from my daughter but then my son came home from school and said the same thing. The teachers are talking about having a day off of school because of the cold. Honestly! They have more days off from school than I have ever seen. Keep them in school with less time off and they will get out before June. LOL

Two more days (but who is counting) until my lab work!

TGIF!!!!!

Once again, I am overwhelmed with kind words of sympathy and encouragement from friends, family,lurkers to my blog and strangers with the loss of our dog! It has been a tough week for our family. I have been so torn up about losing Sunny that it has been difficult for me to talk about her without crying and I am teary as I write this. I thank you all for being there for me once again.

When I started this blog it was to keep my family and friends informed about what was going on with my life during breast cancer treatment. Over the last few months my blog has found its way across the U.S. to computers of people I will probably never meet, some of those who I share a common bond, going through cancer treatment. My blog has actually been viewed in 41 states, some of which I am sure were random blog surfing. Never did I imagine that I would be the source of encouragement or hope or even inspiration to someone else going through what I am going through right now. Starting the blog to keep my own mental sanity has turned out to be so much more than I ever imagined.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a lighter note,,,,,,, or is this a lighter note,,,,,,,



I am staring to lose some eyelashes! I love my eyelashes!!!!! Let's hope that they all don't disappear!

funk

The last two days have been pretty emotional for me. The day after Sunny died I had to be at the hospital by 7 am for another blood test to see if my white blood cell count had improved from 700 the week before. They needed to be 1500 to be able to get chemo that day. I waited until 7:35 before they even called my name. The nurse had trouble getting a vein this time (this is the first time this has happened) so 2 sticks later they finally got blood samples. By the time I went to the day hospital it was 8 am. Then finally at 9 am I got the word that my white cells were only up to 900 this week. Go home and come back next week for another try. Great! Just what I wanted to hear after dragging my butt out of bed and getting little sleep the night before because I am so sad about Sunny. I came home to an empty house and cried. My Sunny was not at the door to greet me this time. And she was not there to lay next to my computer as I did my transcription work in the afternoon. I managed to endure the day, climbed into bed at 9 pm to read, texted my friend Cathy at 10ish for a few good laughs and finally the Benadryl I took put me to sleep.
I worked this morning and am now home doing my transcription work. I hope this funk is gone by tomorrow!

Sunny
January 1, 2000-January 6,2009








My heart is so filled with sadness over the loss of our beloved Sunny. The only comfort I have is that she is no longer in any pain
There will never be another Sunny.

New Project

After visiting my nieces blog who is a very avid scrapbooker, I was intrigued by a new scrapbooking kit that was soon to be coming out on January 1st. Am I a scrapbooker? No, not at all, but the concept behind this kit sounded so easy that I thought I would give it a try because I DO take a lot of photos, especially now with my new camera. What is the kit? Take a photo every day for the next year, organize them in this kit with all the supplies they include and after one year you have a one-year photo journey. Can I do that? I am not sure, but I am going to give it a try. Jess, you will be proud of me if I succeed. LOL I went to this website and with all the hype and promotion it was difficult to get through and order. I placed an order, it did not look quite right, and then this week got a confirmation that I indeed would be getting one of the kits. The website crashed due to an overload of scrapbook junkies who were trying to get their hands on one of these kits. I guess I will be very lucky if one arrives at my door! So for now, while waiting, I am taking one picture a day and will wait to see if the kit arrives.

Tommorrow, bright and early, and I mean early (labs at 7 am, what was I thinking??!!) I am headed to Hotel Froedert for another blood test. Please say a prayer that my white blood counts are up so I can get the treatment!!

"Stuff"

There is something about January every year that makes me start to reorganize and throw out. I think it starts with putting the Christmas decorations back up in the attic. We have lived in our house for 14 years so you can imagine how much "stuff" we have collected in that time. Today I spent part of the day in the attic, reorganizing and throwing out. Some parts of the attic have not been touched in years, while other "stuff" has been sorted through from time to time. Several things brought a smile to my face...... the little white gloves that Natalie wore when she made her first communion..... the little paper mache mask that Billy made when he was in grade school..... ice skates that were practically brand new that Natalie "had to have"......Christmas sketches that Billy made when he was little (he went through a phase where he liked to draw)....the red rocking horse that Aunt Sandy bought for Natalie when she was very little....the Brio train table that Grandpa Bill made for Billy to put his train track on..... matching rocking chairs with the kids names on them. Amidst the empty boxes and junk there were lots of memories and lots of "stuff" that was just too important to part with. I think I will keep this "stuff" for many years. If it brings a smile to your face it is just too important to part with.

New Year

"This is a time for reflection as well as celebration.

As you look back on the past year and all that has taken place in your life,

Remember each experience for the good that has come of it
and for the knowledge you have gained.

Remember the efforts you have made and the goals you have reached.

Remember the love you have shared and the happiness you have brought.

Remember the laughter, the joy, the hard work, and the tears.

And as you reflect on the past year, also be thinking of the new one to come.

Because most importantly, this is a time of new beginnings
and the celebration of life."

Let's Just start the New Year out right!

Well, I am back at home already. I could not have chemo! My blood count was too low even after all the Neupogen injections I had. My basic WBC count was borderline and when the break down came through from the lab my neutrophils were only 700 and needed to be 1000 to be able to have chemo. Needless to say, I am frustrated and little angry! I am so tired of delays. I have to go back on Wednesday for another blood test and hopefully the counts will be up. So stay tuned next week.........
Ughhhhhhhh!

Happy 2009!
John and I ventured out last night for the first time in several years. We went to some friends' house for dinner. We were home by 11:50 and in bed by midnight. I think I am getting old!

Another year ahead. I can honestly say that 2008 was probably the worst year of my life and I am positive that I will have a healthy 2009. I will have 2 major upcoming surgeries this year (replacement of my lost soft tissue expander and then the final implant swap)and 2 smaller surgeries, nipple reconstruction and tattooing. Yes, I said tattoing. I have always secretly wanted a tattoo (please don't tell my mother, she would be mortified), but really never wanted one on one of my boobs. LOL My plastic surgeon said he does not want to start anything until I was feeling really good after my last chemo (which will be the end of January). Tomorrow I start the year out with a bang and go for chemo #3.

I ran into an old friend today that I have not seen in several years. We chatted for quite awhile. It seemed like we had never lost touch. Both of our lives have changed dramatically in the past several years. I know that what I have gone through has changed me as a person. After talking with her, I knew that she had also changed as a person because of her past experiences. Yet as friends, it was still the same old, same old. You can pick up where you left off. That is what is so great about friends! It honestly made my day to run into her and share our lives for a few minutes (well actually it was about 30-40 minutes LOL)

I have a short update on Sunny. As you can see from the above photo she has been able to get around outside in the yard now that all the snow has melted! She has really sort of perked up now that she is able to get out more. She loves to run the boundary of the yard and smell the scents outside. She is still walking only on 3 legs and I doubt she will ever use her bad leg again. She seems to be doing okay right now. She is getting thin so we are spoiling her rotten with all kinds of good food to try and keep some weight on her. She loves tater tot casserole!

We got a call from our breeder that the puppies we have been waiting for were born on Saturday! The dog had 6 females and 4 males so we will have a choice of 2 females to pick from (we are 5th pick for females). We are going out to see them next weekend. Now we need to think about puppy proofing the house. We are all excited to get a new pup in the house, but we are arguing about the name. Natalie does not particularly like the name we are considering. John said that Natalie has no say in the name what so ever because she has never picked up a pile of poop from the yard from Sunny. LOL We will see who wins this argument.

I hope that all of you have a happy and healthy 2009!!!!