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!!!!

Movies,movies, movies

As I sat in my chair last night I realized I have seen 4 movies in the past 2 weeks, two on DVD and two in the theater. Upon the recommendation of my 14 year old we rented Dark Knight and Step Brothers. I honestly can't give you a review of Dark Knight because I fell asleep about half way through (maybe even before the half way mark) and woke up at the end. According to my husband it was long and kind of boring! As for Step Brothers if you want to see a stupid funny movie and are not offended by foul language and talk about body parts this movie was pretty funny in parts, but very stupid in others (maybe why my son loved it and said it was hilarious, it is a movie for kids actually).

On Christmas Day, as tradition for the past several years, our family went to see a movie. We chose the Curious Incident of Benjamin Button. Two thumbs down from the kids "long and boring" from the daughter and "this movie sucks" from the son. John and I found it to be pretty good, although it was way too long (we felt it could have been shorter). If you are looking for an action packed keep you on your seat movie this is not for you. This is the chronological story of a man born old who becomes younger as the movies goes on. It is his life story. I would recommend it if you would like to see something different.

John and I went to see Doubt with Meryl Streep yesterday. I love Meryl Streep. I thnk she is great actress. We both loved the movie. Great acting! Again, this is not an action packed movie but the story of a nun and priest in a tightly run Catholic school. I would highly recommend this one!
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*I am feeling great as of a now. I only had a one-week period after the chemo where I just felt lousy, but was back to normal after that. My next chemo is Friday morning. What a way to start the New Year. My hair has actually started to grow back. I think because of the 2 treatments that really didn't work my hair started growing and as of now what I have has not fallen out since the last chemo. Kind of weird. I am not sure if the 1/4" stubble will fall out or what. If you can believe this my hair is WHITE! I think some dye may be in order after all this is over. YIKES!
Happy Monday!