Well, I had a RUDE awakening this morning! I was lying in my bed, minding my own business, when I felt the bed begin to vibrate just after 5 AM this morning. I've heard people say it felt like a dump truck driving by, but I don't EVER remember a dump truck making that kind of vibration. I've been through a few earthquakes in my day, and immediately knew that's what it was. I have to say, it's kind of a neat feeling. It wasn't a rhythmic shake, it was not that even. And even though it wasn't violent shaking, it still got my heart pumping a bit harder than normal. I guess it's the uncertainty that it MIGHT start shaking harder. It lasted about 10 seconds or so. Not long, but long enough to make your brain say.... Now THAT was weird! I immediately turned on the TV...and it was interesting to have breaking news that hadn't reached the airwaves yet! There were a couple of news casters looking into the screen saying they had felt the shaking and were waiting to hear confirmation. It came about 20 minutes later. A 3.6 earthquake, somewhere between Germantown and Laurel, Maryland. That's not that far as the crow flies from my humble abode! Other than a few shampoo bottles hitting the deck and a couple of rumpled nerves, I survived the whole incident. DH and DS (of course) slept through the whole thing. When I'm reincarnated, I want to come back as a guy who falls asleep at the drop of a hat and can sleep through anything! It should be fair payback for the lack of sleep I'm getting this go round! LOL
I know you haven't heard from me in a while. Well, chemo is an interesting treatment. I wouldn't recommend it unless your life depended on it! I have heard that some people breeze through without much of a fuss. I'm happy for them!! I'll try to keep my comments to a few low moans LOL. I'm not good with nausea. I'm especially not good with it when it lasts an entire week...accompanied by a headache that makes your teeth hurt they are so severe. So rather than moan to you guys, I'll just stay quiet until the feeling passes. We'll focus on the funny bits (and I'll post as many as I can) and we'll get through this. As my PCP tells me...this is temporary. A necessary evil. And one day it will be over.
So...what are the funny bits you ask? Hm....let's see. Oh, maybe there aren't any funny bits this week. I do have a few tales to tell!! They started filling the expanders! Wahoo! My "girls" are beginning to take shape. I can't begin to tell you how this feels. I've never experienced anything like this, it's totally foreign!! I have no idea how long this is going to take, but (now that I'm having chemo they slowed it down a bit) I'll be getting 50 cc injections of saline in each expander every other week. Now 100 cc of water doesn't sound like much, but when you walk in and see these two honking syringes filled with fluid waiting to be injected, it's a bit daunting!! I've learned to ignore the tray of instruments. LOL If you held the amount in your hand, it would appear to weigh almost nothing, but it throws my balance off for a day or two until my body adjusts. It's a little like wearing a tight garment for a day or two until your body adjusts to the expansion. It feels a little like invasion of the body snatchers! LOL I'm beginning to feel a little like Frakenstein's monster LOL Slowly but surely they are putting all the pieces back together. *shaking head* What a process! I've always been a shy person, but after having everybody and their brother want to check incisions and feel tissues, measuring and taking pictures, checking range of motion and such, I'm slowly becoming an exhibitionist. I'm beginning to wonder why they leave the room when they ask you to disrobe and put on a gown, as they are only going to take the "gown" off 5 seconds after they return. And WHY do they call it a gown? I'm NOT wearing a tiara...I'm NOT going to a ball, it's either a flimsy fragile paper cover, or an ugly white/blue see-through cotton that is neither warm nor soft and lets face it, they are not long and flowing, they barely cover the essentials if you know what I mean!! *wink* I don't feel particularly "pretty" wearing these lovely garments that others have worn having who knows what diseases. AND why do they keep their examination rooms so cold? I think it's a conspiracy! Anything to make your experience as UNfun as possible! LOL
Getting to the plastic surgeon's yesterday was a challenge. They had changed my appointment from the day before, and then changed the facility where I was supposed to be seen. I was going to get driving instructions from map quest, but DH (my hero?) printed out the directions before I had a chance. Glancing through them, I could picture in my mind a little of the way there, but the final destination was in a place I'd never been before. I ALWAYS print out the over-all map of the route, because I'm a visual person. I love having a map to follow. It's my comfort blanket. Well...DH wanted to conserve ink. *heavy sigh* That should have been a huge red flag!!! Halfway there yesterday, the directions suddenly took a complicated turn. Map quest left off one of the roads. Unusual, but without an over-all map, I couldn't follow where we were supposed to go. DH is ALWAYS running either just on time, or a couple of minutes late. So here we are, a little late, completely lost and without a map. Can I just say, my blood pressure was a bit high when we reached the doctors office? LOL I called the doctor's office and they directed me where to go. We weren't far. We MIGHT have made it on time even, if only the building that we reached was completely like a Chinese puzzle box!! We met a lady and her two children walking around the outside of the building asking if we knew the way inside. LOL Well the good news is....they were late too, so we didn't have to go inside with our shame hanging out totally alone! The last direction to get to this place is...."It's behind the Irish pub". I was sorely tempted to stop inside the pub for some liquid fortification before I headed up to the plastic surgeon's office. Oh, did I mention? I'm not allowed to drink alcohol...what an unfair bit of injustice since it might afford a bit of liquid courage! LOL
The rest of my day didn't get any better! I had an afternoon appointment in Annapolis with the physical therapist. It was my first visit there. I knew I would be sore from the expansion. I knew they were going to do an evaluation and would be poking and prodding and I was afraid I would be too sore to drive home. So I called my my good buddy, the lovely Miss M. Miss M and I always seem to find ourselves in funny situations. She makes me laugh like no one I know. Well she graciously changed her plans so that she could give me a ride yesterday. As I was leaving the plastic surgeons office she called and said she was at my door at home. Where was I? Poor Miss M was an hour early! She had rushed around getting ready, given up a chore she was supposed to do for her daughter, rushed two European calls off the phone so that she could meet me at my house in time, and she was an hour early. I still feel so bad!!! I rushed home and took her out to lunch before we had to leave for the appointment to try and make up for it.
The physical therapist exam was lengthy, and uncomfortable, and in the end....was the cause of MORE PAPERWORK. Can I just inject a primordial scream here? *AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH* Thank you, I feel much better! LOL Not only did I break my neck to get a referral to visit the office in the first place...but they only authorized 6 visits. After the initial evaluation, she determined I would need at least 6 more appointments...to be made before I left the facility...because they were so booked up that it's impossible to get appointments and you should get them as soon as possible. BUT I only had 5 more visits allowed me after the initial consultation. AND I need a compression sleeve for the lymph edema that it was determined that I already have beginning to accumulate in my tissues...before my next appointment...next Tuesday. I learned today that they have to take measurements and make a sleeve specifically for me, and that takes at least 10 days...not to mention the time it takes for pre-authorization from insurance. . And the same for a wig. You know what that means right? Yep...back to my primary clinic to bug my buddies there for more referrals and paperwork. *sigh* Can I cry now? I hate the looks of terror and disgust whenever I enter the clinic. They see me coming and scurry in a multitude of different directions like cockroaches in the light. LOL Now, not only do I look and feel like a freak of nature, but I'm being treated like one too. Ah...the humiliation of this horrible disease.
After running over to our church to pick up DS from vacation Bible school today, (a process that took 2 hours!!), I found a message on my answering machine. Finally...a ray of hope in my otherwise boring mundane day. It was a message from a clinic where I now have an appointment Monday for a fitting for a compression sleeve, a wig, and other "prosthesis". This is news to me, that I will be getting special "garments" and "prosthesis" to make me look like I used to until the final process of reconstruction is complete. Hm....and if the lady had been within arms length I would have given her a huge hug!!! She told me, don't worry about pre-authorization or doctors orders, they work closely with my breast doctor and that clinic there to get all the paperwork I needed, I wouldn't have to be involved in any of that stressful "nonsense". Where has she been from the beginning? Or maybe I'm just traveling in the wrong parallel universe? And can I seriously trust what she says? *shaking head* Maybe if I pinch really hard I'll wake up. *PINCH* Hm.....nope, still here thinking the same thoughts. I hope she's for real!
I had a few things I've been working on, so I'll share a few pictures. The first few are some Mill Hills kits Christmas Ornaments that are in various stages of progress. The two mittens are finished, the sled is almost finished, and the last blobby looking thing will be a nativity scene when it's finished. And last but not least is the progress I'm having on my Rose Quaker. I worked on this during chemo and it's coming along pretty well. I LOVE this pattern!
And for the brightest part of my day....as I was sitting here typing earlier, the phone rang and you'll never guess who it was... Gillie!!!! Gillie, if you're reading this, I want to say THANK YOU!!! If you've been praying, God is listening! My day turned around from the moment you said hello! It was so good to hear your voice and share a giggle, you made my day! I'm also sitting here waiting for some dear friends who live in Pennsylvania (I've known for 20 years now) who should be arriving soon. I'm blessed with wonderful people in my life who always seem to pick me up when I need it. So thanks, Gillie, Bob and Peggy! I guess God knew I needed your shoulders at this particular point in time and you were willing participants. Thanks for being there, my friends!
I'm off to get started on my weekend. I hope yours turns out as well as mine promises to! *Hugs*
Hi gang!
I wanted to write this yesterday, but by the time I got home, called my Mother and a friend of mine I needed to ask for a ride in two weeks, I was beginning to feel not so hot. They told me I would be fine the first couple of days, but everybody's different (so I'm beginning to find out!).
The chemo session itself wasn't bad. I was able to joke around with the nurse, DH and DS were able to accompany me while I sat there and before we left I felt like the nurse was a long lost friend. They had a little trouble finding a vein, but that's typical of me. I was able to stitch (yeeehaaa!!), and the time went by very quickly. I didn't feel badly at all when I left, just a little tired from sitting so long. Not bad at all. Then I got home. UGH!! Well I won't bore you with the gory details, lets just say it took three calls to the on call doctor, three different types of nausea medicine before they found the one that stopped the icky feeling. I'm not normally a wimp, but when it comes to an upset tummy, that's my weakness!! After a good night's rest though, I feel pretty good. Let the good times roll!! I go back today for a shot to help with white blood cell production and we'll see how that goes! I'm resting for the next three days. I feel better when I'm quiet. A friend called last night in the middle of all the yucky feelings I was having and she said she was praying for me, I told her "Pray harder!" LOL She is so sweet, she started crying then and I feel awful. It was meant to be a joke, but I guess it came across in my voice that I wasn't feeling too well. I made her laugh before I got off the phone though. I'm blessed with such good friends!!
Wednesday night was our support group meeting. DH and my friend went with me. I love the ladies in this group!! But there was a new person there last night. We'll call her Miss D. She and I have similar backgrounds and a similar sense of humor I think. We usually start the night by going around the room and introducing ourselves and tell what step we are in our "progress". Miss D introduced herself "Hi I'm D and I'm an alcholic!" We all laughed because that's pretty much how the group meetings start. LOL!! Miss D was to have her surgery yesterday. She has 5 yr old twins and was looking really nervous about everything. I wanted to talk with her, but the meeting went on and I wasn't able to speak to her much. And when it was over I was ready to go home, I had had a busy day (I'd also had my first "fill up" for the expanders and things were beginning to ache). While at the hospital yesterday having lunch before the infusion, I ran into Miss D's mother. So I went over to say hello. Miss D was in surgery at that moment. So I gave her mother my phone number and told her to feel free to call. Her mother and Miss D had discussed me on their way home, and said they wished they could have asked me a few more questions. Now they can! Tell me THAT wasn't providential?! God certainly works in mysterious ways!! After my chemo session I went back up to the waiting room to ask for Miss D's phone number (I forgot to get it at lunch) and she said she has just gone into recovery and everything went well. They also got to see that I was doing well after my first session of chemo, so it was a warm fuzzy all around. I hope they do call me if they need anything. I found out they live about 5 miles from me!!
So that's the news. You may not hear from me for a while now, don't worry...it's just me hibernating for a bit. Oh, and Gillie!! I DID mean to write heat advisory in my last post, but you know, after reading the post...head fit in there just as well! LOL I told you guys I was mental, did you not believe me? LOLOL!!! Good catch, Gillie! Maybe I should run my ramblings by you for editing before I post? I have to admit, with everything running through my head it's hard to keep things straight...appointments, times to take medicines, people's names, directions to different clinics, phone calls I'm supposed to make etc. With all the meds floating around in there too, it's a wonder I spell anything right! But you guys keep me honest ok? Don't want to lose ALL my marbles over this! LOL Thanks for reading, praying, sending good thoughts etc. You guys keep me going!!
*Hugs*
*Heavy sigh*
I think I'm on mental overload. I need a vacation. Oh, before I forget, I should explain the title...LOL Having lived with a military man for so many years, we've learned acronyms by the bucket laod, but the above is one of my favorites...LOL I will keep it clean, but you can insert any number of words for the third letter... Same Old "Stuff", Different Day. LOL
I wish you could see my appointment calendar. It's a mess, and I only enter things in pencil because sometimes they change from second to second (and I'm not exaggerating). Maybe I should take a picture and show you what I mean...Hm....nevermind, I WILL take that picture...hang on a sec.
This is the calendar page for the month of July. Just keep in mind that this is not filled in yet. I will have weekly appointments with the plastic surgeon for "fill up" sessions and the physical therapy clinic still hasn't called for appointments to the lymph edema clinic. I made two appointments yesterday, and will be making more as the week progresses. And to think that last week, other than the weeks that are marked off for special events, this page was clean!! I spoke with my boss Monday just before he left for his trip. I had e-mailed him a week or so ago and asked him to call me when he had a free moment because I was going to ask about going back to work, but that's before the "stuff" hit the fan and I was told I would start chemo this week. He still wants me to come back to work, even though I can't lift anything heavy, and I'm not supposed to break the integrity of my skin (I have to stay healthy and free of infection while on chemo) which is hard to do when dealing with sharp items such as glass, mat boards, saws, utility knives etc. I'm such a clutz anyway, when I was working I was always wearing band-aids LOL (Grace is NOT my middle name!!!) His response was, he would rather have me sitting out front waiting on customers if that's all I could do, then not working at all, for my own sanity's sake as well as the sake of certain customers who have been asking for my help. I have groupies!!! LOL!! (I feel like Joan Crawford when I say..."They like me, they REALLY like me!") I almost fell off my chair, he must have been in a good mood anticipating his family trip when he told me that! Or maybe he's feeling a little sorry for me, whatever works. But you decide, I'm going to have a few days when I'm feeling sick and tired, not to mention all those appointments (that aren't even listed on the calendar yet)... do I really have time to work? Hm....? The money WOULD be helpful...?
I had my teaching session yesterday for the infusion clinic where I'll be having chemo. DH and DS trailed along with me and the nurse was very nice. She had had breast cancer herself and had some of the same things done that I've had. I was able to "pick her brain" a bit and asked questions that I've been wondering about. That was more helpful than the rest of the stuff she had to tell me. The one thing that I learned that brightened my day is that I CAN stitch while getting the treatments. I'll be there about 2 hours while they give me at least three medications. I have to return Friday for a shot to help with white blood cell production (a steroid). I had to laugh when DS asked if I would have "roid rage". Let's face it ladies, I'm part Irish (hence the blarney) and do have a wee bit of a temper. The nurse just told him to tell me to go to my room when I was misbehaving that way. (That's what her kids told her) LOL
The rest of my day was spent on the phone. Between making appointments, calls from clinics about procedures and paperwork that they need, calls to the insurance company and other silliness, I rarely have time to myself OFF the phone. I also have very caring friends who call. When this is over and done I think my final surgery will be to have the phone surgically removed from my ear!! I'm not exaggerating (DS is keeping a tally sheet) but I spent 5 hours on the phone to friends yesterday. When is an addicted stitcher supposed to stitch???? By the way, I'm not complaining about talking to my friends. They have kept me going and I cherish each and every phone call!!!
The last call last night was my absolute favorite call though. I got a card in the mail from a friend I've had since I was 7 years old. She had run into my mother in the grocery store back home (gotta love small town living!!) and asked how I was. She was shocked to learn what was going on with me. So when I got her card, I picked up the phone and called her. She and I have one of those friendships that we can not see each other for years, but when we talk it's like we just saw each other yesterday. We share the same weird sense of humor and we belly laughed for hours last night. DS kept poking his nose in my room last night and would roll his eyes when he realized I was still on the phone with her. I can see the gears turning in his head, thinking, what in the world could she be talking about for hours? One thing that sticks in his head though, is that he's learned that his Mom can have friends that make her laugh hysterically and that she can talk with for hours.
DS has been spending more time with me lately...I'm not sure if he's worried I won't be around much longer, or if he realizes that I'm not the Wicked Witch of the West that he's always thought I was. Either way, we're bonding in a new way now, and I think we're both beginning to appreciate the other in different ways than before. Another positive thing that's come out of the cancer. Who would have thought that something as evil as cancer could have a positive effect? I'm still thanking God for cancer!!
And on that note, I'm off to get ready for an appointment with the plastic surgeon. I had to laugh last night when DS (who has never met Dr. S) did a google search to see if there was a picture of him out there. He ran across a doctor's picture, who he thought was him, and said, "He looks like an OLD Steven Spielberg". LOL!!! That picture did!! But it was the wrong picture. It's strange, I guess my head is full of stereotypes, but Dr. S doesn't fit my image of a plastic surgeon. He's a very nice man, very caring, seemed genuinely sorry when they found cancer in the sentinel nodes and knew I would need more surgery...and just doesn't LOOK like a plastic surgeon. LOL All total opposites of what I expected. I'm glad I have a caring individual in my corner!!
Ok, off to take a shower (they STILL feel great after all those weeks of sponge baths!! LOL) and try to look for something cool to wear! We broke a heat record yesterday (103) and the head advisory is still in effect until 11 PM tonight. This must be the year for breaking records, as we broke a record snowfall earlier this year. What a world!?!?
I know, I know, two posts so close together. Can you handle it? I know you can!! LOL
Just had to BRAG that I got to drive today!! I took myself to the dentist, then came back and took my son an hour later! I think I should have stopped there. LOL It was nice to have that independence....I must say. I haven't driven since before the surgery on May 27th. It felt GREAT! Until...I think I tired myself out. *sigh* Ah well, this too shall pass. I had a few more errands to run after that, and now I'm tired, had to come back and take a nap. *Shaking head* Hopefully one day I'll have all my energy back...we'll see...LOL
The person in charge of referrals at my clinic called while I was at my dentist appointment to tell me she had given DH the wrong referral and asked what clinic I needed the two referrals for. She had gotten a note from my Doctor about them and realized her mistake. So...not only did I find my piece of mind yesterday, I got to keep it! Whoever is watching out for me from above deserves a HUGE thank you! (And thank YOU too if you were the one praying for that help from above!)
While I was there (and DS was with me) I asked if we could go ahead and get his meningitis shot. If looks could kill, I'd be a dead DJ today LOL. I told him to relax his arm, the nurse said she would give it to him on the count of 3...she said one and gave him the shot. I wish I had had a camera. The look on his face was priceless. I'm still chuckling as I write this. A complete look of surprise and shock came over his face when he realized he'd been "tricked". But he had to admit afterward that he didn't really feel much and was surprised how little it hurt. LOL!!!
I'm having an issue with ADT. We have had an alarm system on our house for years since the house next door to ours was broken into a few years ago. I lived in an apartment many years ago and got up one morning to find the doorknob broken and hanging by one screw. Thankfully the deadbolt was still in place. DH had gotten up one morning at the crack of dawn (Army training you know?) and had left. Thieves had tried to break in thinking no one was home. I still check and double check locks to this day. If the deadbolt hadn't been in place who knows what would have happened!?!?! Anyway, for some reason the alarm on our system keeps going off at weird hours telling us that our battery is low. We had someone in a week or so ago who was supposed to have fixed the problem. At 2:30 this morning the alarm when off and I think I'm the only one who hears these things. I had to make like a bread truck and haul buns out of bed to shut the stupid thing off. *sigh* Since then it's gone off twice more. ADT is sending someone AGAIN tomorrow to see what the issue is. I hope they fix it this time. That system gives me piece of mind at night!! And believe me, right now I need all the pieces I can get! LOL
Well, if you made it this far, you are a trooper! Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has a very happy and safe 4th of July! *Hugs*
Hi there!
You may be wondering about my title I have up there...LOL I couldn't resist the play on words. Yep, I'm praying for peace of mind and a piece of my mind. I'm having a battle today!!
I haven't written in a little while because my life is so out of kilter!! I feel sometimes that my life is crawling along at a snail's pace...and at other times, it's flying by at the speed of light. It seems I make appointments for things and time seems to stand still until they get here, and then things are thrown at me from left and right. I'm saying up front that I am right handed and when you throw things from the left, I often miss them!! LOL
Since my last post I took a little trip. Where did I go you ask? I took the fast way down from the third floor...on my bum...hitting every step on the way down. Are you saying OUCH? Thank you, because that's what I said too!! (And a few other words I won't mention or my Mother will be washing my mouth out with soap!) DH and DS were at a ball game, and I was loading up on my usual meds before bedtime. (My friend reminded me I should just say NO! to drugs LOL) Seems I was always the most sore at night when I was trying to sleep. I was heading down to the kitchen to get a drink when my foot just seemed to miss the step and hit nothing but air. Yep, I was airborne without a parachute, my hand was caught up in the banister and thrown over my head (the arm that had just had surgery...and I think I ripped a couple of stitches DOUBLE OUCH!). I landed spread eagle on the living room floor. I got to my feet...and headed for the freezer for some cold compresses just as the guys came home. I wasn't sure what part of my body to use the ice packs on. LOL Needless to say, I opened an area of my incision under my arm, I had a HUGE bruise on my bum, and my wrist took a beating too. Not to mention my poor ego which has taken a licking and kept on ticking since this whole thing began. DH has a new nickname for me now. BABBs. Black And Blue Buttocks. While teasing me because of the bruise (which he has said looks like a duck, or a turtle, he can't decide which) I told him to kiss my BABBs!! Fortunately he didn't take that to heart, and took very good care of my incision, my bum and my ego (in that order!). The incision has finally healed over, just in time for the next step in the plastic surgery process...inflating the expanders. As the Doctor says, next week we start fillin' 'em up! Amazing TaTas....here we come!
Yesterday was one of those days. I had an appointment with the plastic surgeon in the morning, and the medical oncologist in the afternoon. In between I took a break from reality and went to see the new movie Toy Story 3 in 3D. If you haven't seen it, and you liked the first Toy Story, this one was very cute, although I did shed a few tears toward the end. I'm a softy what can I say? I'm glad I did go, it was just the thing I needed before the firestorm started! Not only am I starting the process of inflating the expanders next week, but I'll be starting chemo as well. NOOOOOOO I thought I had another two weeks, I'm not mentally prepared for this. Now this is were I need peace of mind...beginning to see the picture? Not only am I starting chemo next week, but guess what!?!?! I need another referral.
I did nothing but talk on the phone from the moment I woke up (which is what woke me up in the first place...the phone) until 5:00 when the offices closed. The Physician's Assistant that gave me my post op appointment last week, forgot to refer me to the lymph edema clinic so called today to tell me to make an appointment...and OH YEAH, you need ANOTHER referral! I called them this morning and STILL have not heard back from the physical therapy clinic. *sigh* I DID hear from the infusion clinic about chemo and set up two appointments for next week. Then I called the insurance company to see what exactly I needed for chemo and physical therapy so I could call my clinic and get things rolling. I got a prescription for my wig (that should be fun!!) though, and am trying to coordinate a time when some friends of mine can help me select my new do! I called my primary clinic to see about getting the referrals, and spoke to my doctor who said she would write up the referrals and have them waiting for DH to pick up on his way home. DONE (or so I thought).
Then I realized I had made an appointment for chemo at the same time as a dentist appointment. I had to call and get a different appointment. Thankfully, because of the 4th of July holiday, people are canceling their appointments for tomorrow, so got both my son and myself an appointment for tomorrow...morning...8 AM (ugh!!) Don't they know I need my beauty sleep!?!?!?!
Then DH stopped by the clinic on his way home, and they didn't have my referrals. No sign of them in the computer. NOTHING!! This is were I lost my piece of mind. LOL And believe me, I'm going to find it, and hand it over to the ladies at the clinic tomorrow!! It's always the referral process that freaks me out, because it's like dealing with a brick wall. They THINK they know what I need, but the insurance company tells me something different. They refuse to bend, and so does the insurance company. I absolutely HATE being in the middle of two immovable objects! It shouldn't be this hard, especially when I'm in the middle of a war with my own body. WHY DO THEY HAVE TO MAKE IT SO HARD? I'm beginning to hate going to the doctors. It's more painful than my BABB!!
I'm heading out to look for my piece of mind. It has to be around here somewhere....
Where to begin? I know...Last Monday!!
My Mother always had a saying, and today I learned it was from her Mother... "So goes Monday, So goes the week". Well if my life is anything noteworthy, it is a testament to that statement!! Last Monday was THE PITS!! And the rest of the week went downhill from there. I won't bore you with any details, lets just say, it's in the past now, and nearly forgotten. Because THIS Monday, was GREAT!!
I got the phone call I've been waiting to hear! The pathology report was back late on Friday so decided to wait until today to call. I'm glad they did, because it was NEGATIVE for cancer cells! I've never been so thrilled to hear something so negative in my whole life! I've been doing the happy dance ever since!
I also decided to show you a few finishes I've had since I got home from the hospital the first time. I have started AND finished each of these since my first hospital stay...
This is from Little House Needleworks, the first in a series of Christmas Ornaments, and is called Fa La La. Stitched on 30 ct. cappuccino over two. It's bigger than I expected and have been thinking I may stitch it over one to see what it looks like before I go any further.
This is a Button and Beads kit that I found. While working I saw someone bring in Peace On Earth, button and bead kit. I went looking for it and didn't find it, but found this one instead. One day I'll have to share pictures of my Nativity collection, but I thought this one would fit in nicely, so here is Silent Night, Holy Night finished.
Last is a Mill Hills Kit I just finished called Coin Purse. I started it yesterday and finished it today! I put sticky felt behind it and fastened a magnet to it so it is ready to hang as soon as it dries!
I've been working on Rose Quaker too, and here's a picture of my progress...
I had a wonderful surprise a few weeks ago when flowers began growing in the front yard that I thought had died over the winter. DH finally went out to take a picture of these lovelies that are blooming in the front yard. We purchased them through a fund raiser the school was having, and didn't really expect much from them as they arrived in pretty poor shape. What a surprise to see them blossoming now, a promise that good things come from seemingly bad.
I received something a few weeks ago I should have shared before now. This has a lot of meaning in it. I've said before that when I stitch something for someone, I think of them while stitching, I take my time thinking of what I will stitch, then pray for them while stitching it. A lot of my heart and soul go into the pieces I stitch for someone. Well, this particular item was made for me by a friend of mine. It's called a prayer shawl. She crocheted it for me and prayed for me while doing so. I've covered myself many times with it, and maybe it's my imagination, or maybe it's the prayers that went into it while being made, but it has warmed me from the inside out. Thank you from the bottom of my heard, Debbie. I will continue to use it, I love it very much!! It's soft as velvet and such a beautiful color!
I had a wonderful surprise in the mail today. My stitching pal from across the big pond sent me a lovely humbug. She shared in her letter that she filled it with orts. When life begins to unravel, I can find strings in here to tie things together and carry on! What a wonderful thought, and I'll think about that every time I look at it, Mouse!! Her stitching is flawless, and I love the colors she used! It's hanging in my "dining room" so I'll see it often and it's where I sometimes sit to stitch. I adore it Mouse! Thank you!!
That's all I have to share today. I hope you are all having a wonderful Monday and that the rest of your week goes as well as today! Thanks for reading!
*Hugs*
Hi, My name is DJ and I'm a boxoholic.
Isn't that the first step to rehab? When you can admit your addiction? If only there were such a thing as boxoholics anonymous. I think there are a lot of us out there (including my cat) who have the inability to "just say NO" to a good box! LOL
Well I realized I had an addiction when my friend came over last Monday to stitch and I pulled out my most recent acquisition. Yes, it was another new box, with an interesting lid and a cool way to attach the lid!! What can I say? I NEED them, and they NEED a good home! So they often fall off the shelf into my shopping cart and I carry them home to make use of them. I'm getting pretty good at finding good homes for these boxes! LOL Here are only a very FEW of my pretties...now tell me, don't you feel the need to have a few of them yourself? Let me ask you something....can you guess what my favorite color is? LOL
And when I finally acknowledged I had this addiction, of course you begin to see it in others too. Like my little friend, Thomas. He LOVES a new box! Another friend came over last Thurs to stitch and she brought along a box of goodies for us to eat (and I have to say, I couldn't wait until this week, I had to eat the wonderful dinner she brought the next night!) And in doing so, Thomas got a new box! We had to laugh, because I emptied it, and set it on a chair. When DH came home and saw it sitting there, he said "Watch this"... and he dropped the box about a foot from Thomas' previous box, and counted to three. Before he got th...out of his mouth, Thomas had woken from a sound sleep, sniffed in the direction of the new box, hopped out of his old box, 
and stepped into his new box. It was almost as if he did it in his sleep! We laughed our heads off! Hm...this addiction...either it runs in the family (more like gallops) or there's something in the water around here!!
He looks comfy doesn't he? Wish I could sleep like that in a new bed!!
With surgery looming tomorrow (did I say TOMORROW??) I had some last minute business I had to take care of. I am ashamed to admit it, I had my Mother's Day gift to my Mom hanging around here (as well as to DH's Mom too), my Mother's Birthday gift, a friend's birthday gift (a purse mirror for her 50th Birthday!)(pictured below), 
and tons of thank you cards to get mailed. I was busy over the weekend getting things wrapped, boxed and signed. They were all mailed yesterday so if you've been waiting, you can actually start looking for them to arrive. I'm behind in letter writing still though, so you'll have to wait on that...sorry folks. I can only be productive in little spurts these days, and even that takes the stuffing out of me! LOL I'm afraid it may take a little while longer to get those letters written, nothing to write about except how many holes are in the ceiling both in my bedroom and the one at the hospital...LOL
I mentioned last post that I had gotten more flowers. I don't think Bob and Peggy had gotten to see pictures...so here are a few. Every day they look prettier!! Thanks again!
Today was DS's last day of school! Just in time for him to be my constant companion for the next round of surgery! Lucky him! LOL He brought home his tech ed project today, and I just had to show it off! What a great job he did, don't you think? Anyone for a gumball? He better hide this beauty, gum is one of my weaknesses, and they'll be gone in a heartbeat if they stay on the kitchen counter! YUMMY!
Yesterday was a full day of poking and prodding. I had two tests. One I had to drink this awful stuff (Barium that was apple flavored...YUCK!) Then I had to put my arms up over my head (not easy to do after a mastectomy...let me tell you!!! OUCH!) while they took pictures and injected contrasting dye into my veins. I ran from there to a heart test where they took some blood, inserted a radioactive isotope into it, then re-injected it back into my bloodstream. I mentioned to the lady, that was the first time I'd had blood drawn and they had given it back, it was about time, as the well was running dry! LOL Then I spent some time holding my arms over my head again, this time for 30 minutes! I have to say, I was pretty sore after that! I was afraid the room would glow when I turned out the lights last night, with all that radioactive/chemical stuff they filled me with yesterday. *shaking head* The stuff they do to you to make you better....it's a puzzlement!!
Well, off to take a snooze. I have to rest up for tomorrow. Let's say a prayer that they don't find anymore cancer in anymore lymph nodes! I'm sure that will put my mind at ease (not to mention the doctor's too!). See you after surgery! *Hugs*
