I have really been enjoying my break from chemo. I was so blessed to start it when the weather was still good. Now...... not so much. IT"S HOT! I know so many people that can still function outside when it is 108 degrees. I just don't do very well. I do have to say though that the low humidity or as they say...it's a dry heat, makes it tolerable. When I go out in the afternoon to feed I can easily do that without getting even close to heat stroke. The way I have it set up I can pretty much stay in the shade. The animals are so much more adaptable than I am.
One of the problems with summer is what do you do all day???? I get up before the sun, around 4:00am now instead of 3:30. Big deal right... a whole 30 minutes, it helps though. Then I play on the computer until around 6:00am get dressed and head outside for poop duty. Any later than that and it is already to hot. I come in and either jump in the shower or fix breakfast. After my shower it's not like it takes any time to do my hair. Although it is growing some. But still, it only takes a few minutes to do makeup. Whoohoo now it is around 7:00am.........now what? Oh I have things I could do but I am so not motivated. Like sorting out all my doctor type paperwork and file it, or I could go all spiritual and read my bible. For some reason those things just don't grab me, at least everyday they don't. So yesterday I went from the couch to my desk, back to the couch and back to my desk. I repeated that many times, with of course a few rounds in the kitchen to EAT!!! I am still eating healthy trying to prepare for the cruise but I am so bored and think I am eating a little to much to loose any weight. No exercise !!!! I don't think moving from couch to desk to kitchen will actually burn many calories or get my heart rate up for a good cardio workout.
I could write more blog stuff but when you are bored the brain kind of shuts down, at least mine does. I didn't leave the house yesterday so today I need to go SOMEWHERE anywhere just to get out. Ohhh....... I know..... I will go to the new Big Lots and walk around. Of course that means spending a few dollars too. Thank goodness I have a lunch date tomorrow with Dani and I need to go to Sprouts. Well I hope everyone has a productive day. Later gator.
Minnie the wonder horse and other short stories is still coming soon.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
What a week continued.
The line up included; Sue, who is such a dear friend and last year at this time we were headed for Europe. Michelle B., is Sue's youngest and beautiful daughter who I adore. Michelle M., is my BFF dinner partner on Wednesdays and was also on our cruise in Europe. Tracy, I don't have enough paper to describe what Tracy has meant to me, I will save that for another blog story. Erica, I was privileged to work with Eric at church in children's ministry a beautiful lady inside and out. Lori, my special friend and my travel agent who takes such good care of me when we travel, she is the best. Melissa, I understand was part of organizing this little surprise, thank you sweetie you're the best! Jennifer, one of those people you don't see very often but when you do you pick up right where you left off, warm heart. Gina, has one of the biggest hearts you will ever find, we share the love of kids. Jackie, we share a special friendship, we both have had huge health scares and both have survived using our faith in God and our love for life. Of course I mentioned Julia, my best ever hugging friend. Julia also has a heart as big as Texas. Thank you so much for compiling such a great group of friends. We vowed to try and do a get together at least once a year. Till next time then !!!!!!!!!!
Friday, June 10, 2011
I want to share the past week with you'all.
Soon I will start writing a kind of series of stories but first I want to share how I just spent this week with some of my mostest favorite peeps.
It is startling how different our time together was but how much the same it is when it comes to sharing special time with ones you love.
On Monday night Suz arrived at my house around 8:30pm. She bravely drove down from Payson after her grueling kick boxing class. She is one lean mean kicking machine. I have had the honor of watching a couple of her classes and let me tell you, they are intense. We stayed up for a while and talked then off to bed because we had a BIG day ahead. When Suz and I get together we manage to cover an amazing amount of ground in a very short time. I may forget a few stops or even the order in which we traveled but you will get the idea.
So first stop was my cardiologist appointment. The arrival time needed to be around 7:00am. So we were out the door by 6:30am. Of course I had already fed the horses and cleaned poop. We left the doctor's office, which was at Broadway and Power. We headed down the street to the Village Inn for a yummy breakfast, then on to Target at Power & Ray. After we couldn't find exactly what we needed we went across the street to Wally World. Better known as WalMart. Had zero luck at that one. We went back to my house to grab a cheese cake from the freezer. Suz makes the most amazing cheese cakes. This one was headed to a friend at the Superstition Ranch Market near Meridian and Main. Before we went there though we stopped at the WalMart just North of my house. Found what we needed, and of course some items we didn't need but had to have. On to the market. On the way to the market Suz's husband, Glen, called and was meeting us at the market. We shopped and delivered the cheesecake and then headed back to my house to unload all the fruit and veggies. Whew !!!! I am tired all over again. Unloaded groceries then off to Kohls with our 30% coupon. It was Suz's Bday and she had a coupon for free food at Famous Dave's Barbecue. Gotta love those coupons. We still had errands to run but Glenn wasn't really interested in tagging along so we stopped by my house again and dropped him at his car. Off we were to the Michael's at Power and Ray. Sound familiar? We had gone full circle from this morning. Done at Michaels we headed to the house again to feed critters. It was going on 3:30 by now. While I fed the dogs Suz started cleaning and cutting her rhubarb. She also makes 52 different kinds of jam. She is multi-talented, and can multi-task like no body's business. Then we both went out to feed and water the horses. Back in the house and now she is cleaning apricots. Our other BFF Michelle comes and we have a little Lemon Chello. It is a yummy lemon wine. Michelle's Bday was the 6th and Suz's is actually the 8th so were were going to dinner to celebrate. We left for Carrabas about 10 minutes to six. Gary met us there for dinner too. After dinner we walked across the parking lot and enjoyed some gelato. I guess it is around 7:30 or 8:00pm by now. We needed to get to bed so we could be at Kohls by 8:00am because we both had $10 coupons to use. We earned them on our earlier visit today. Heaven forbid you should let a coupon go by. In the morning we went to Einsteins for a quick bagel then Kohls. Suz needed ice so we stopped at a Circle K and headed for home. We packed her car with fruit and veggies and the ever precious purchases from yesterday. She had a very full little Mini-Cooper.
I then had already packed for my next adventure. Gary needed a ride to Phoenix so we left around 9:00am. I dropped him off and headed for the West Valley. I was on my way to see Judi and my beloved girls Cami and Maddie. Judi's husband and son were in California so we had two days of just the girls. I was very excited to see them. They are like my adopted grandbabies. I arrived around 10am. Judi and I used to do the same thing Suz and I did. Now Judi does a lot of running with the three kids and has a very busy schedule. Our favorite thing to do together now is just hang. Spend our time just gellin and talking and spending quality time with the girls. We did head over to Judi's very special friends house to go swimming. I love Gaye too. She is so sweet and warm. We clicked the first time we met I think. We hung around the pool for quite a while just relaxing and catchin some rays. After that we went back to Judi's house. Cami, who is seven, called a friend and asked if she could come over. So that meant it was just Judi, Maddie and me. We headed off to one of the yummiest places to eat. Blu Burger. Yum !!!!!! Judi lives basically at Camelback and Jackrabbit and we went to somewhere north of Westgate. Judi said we were on the edge of Peoria. I have never been to Peoria so now I can claim I was. I know, it's not that exciting but it is always fun to go to new places.
Is this a boring blog? I hope I am not boring you all. It will be nice to have this in writing so I can go back and read it later. It will mean amazing memories for me. If you can't hang I will understand.
After dinner we went back and picked up Cami. We went back to the house and did a little more relaxing. I finally gave in and went to bed at 9:00. Me being the early riser woke up at a very late hour for me 7:00am. It felt good though. Nothing to feed but me!!! I made some coffee and sat out on their back patio. It was there I wrote the intro to my next set of blogs. There were birds to watch and I big crane hauling trusses around for the new houses being built behind their house. Judi and the girls woke around 9:00ish. We then did something I rarely do....NOTHING !!! we just relaxed, made a very healthy and yummy breakfast, watched Marmaduke, made a yummy healthy lunch. Judi needed to take Maddie to the dentist for a filling. Her appointment was at 1:10pm. Cami and I just stayed at home and watched a little more TV. At this point I really have been on the couch most of the day. I loved it and needed it. When Judi and Maddie came home we packed up our swim stuff and headed for Verado to get some gelato. My second round of gelato in just three days. Yum again!!! Maddie was so funny. Her mouth was numb from the dentist. When she smiled she had the cutest crooked smile. Maddie is almost five. She requested chocolate gelato. Oh my !!! We had the gelato experience. There was chocolate everywhere. It was fun!!!! After our tasty treats we went back over to Gaye's house for some more swimming. I got in the pool and did some moving around. After a day on the couch I felt like I needed a little exercise. Gaye made us a wonderful dinner too. After dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert we went back to Judi's. Judi's husband and son were coming home that evening and Judi had to drive to the airport and pick them up. Their plane came in around 10:00pm. I stayed home with the girls. I went to bed around 10:00. I was tired but in such a relaxed way. It felt so good. In the morning I got up at 6:30. I got dressed and went out on the patio again. Tim came out when he saw me and we chatted for a few minutes. I went in and made a big strong cup of coffee. Pretty soon everyone was up. I planned to leave around 11:00ish so we had a few more hours together. I had recorded the movie Eat Pray and Love for Judi and I to try and watch. With three kids in the house we knew it wasn't going to be easy but that was our goal before I had to come home. We did it !!!! There were a few interruptions but the movie ended just about 11:00. Off Judi went dropping kids here and there and I drove home.
Wow !!! Talk about a vacation. I really had so much fun. Running and running with Suz then chillin and swimmin with the girls. Lots of memories made in just a couple of days. Thank you Suz and Judi. I am so blessed to have both of you in my life. Love you!!!!
It is startling how different our time together was but how much the same it is when it comes to sharing special time with ones you love.
On Monday night Suz arrived at my house around 8:30pm. She bravely drove down from Payson after her grueling kick boxing class. She is one lean mean kicking machine. I have had the honor of watching a couple of her classes and let me tell you, they are intense. We stayed up for a while and talked then off to bed because we had a BIG day ahead. When Suz and I get together we manage to cover an amazing amount of ground in a very short time. I may forget a few stops or even the order in which we traveled but you will get the idea.
So first stop was my cardiologist appointment. The arrival time needed to be around 7:00am. So we were out the door by 6:30am. Of course I had already fed the horses and cleaned poop. We left the doctor's office, which was at Broadway and Power. We headed down the street to the Village Inn for a yummy breakfast, then on to Target at Power & Ray. After we couldn't find exactly what we needed we went across the street to Wally World. Better known as WalMart. Had zero luck at that one. We went back to my house to grab a cheese cake from the freezer. Suz makes the most amazing cheese cakes. This one was headed to a friend at the Superstition Ranch Market near Meridian and Main. Before we went there though we stopped at the WalMart just North of my house. Found what we needed, and of course some items we didn't need but had to have. On to the market. On the way to the market Suz's husband, Glen, called and was meeting us at the market. We shopped and delivered the cheesecake and then headed back to my house to unload all the fruit and veggies. Whew !!!! I am tired all over again. Unloaded groceries then off to Kohls with our 30% coupon. It was Suz's Bday and she had a coupon for free food at Famous Dave's Barbecue. Gotta love those coupons. We still had errands to run but Glenn wasn't really interested in tagging along so we stopped by my house again and dropped him at his car. Off we were to the Michael's at Power and Ray. Sound familiar? We had gone full circle from this morning. Done at Michaels we headed to the house again to feed critters. It was going on 3:30 by now. While I fed the dogs Suz started cleaning and cutting her rhubarb. She also makes 52 different kinds of jam. She is multi-talented, and can multi-task like no body's business. Then we both went out to feed and water the horses. Back in the house and now she is cleaning apricots. Our other BFF Michelle comes and we have a little Lemon Chello. It is a yummy lemon wine. Michelle's Bday was the 6th and Suz's is actually the 8th so were were going to dinner to celebrate. We left for Carrabas about 10 minutes to six. Gary met us there for dinner too. After dinner we walked across the parking lot and enjoyed some gelato. I guess it is around 7:30 or 8:00pm by now. We needed to get to bed so we could be at Kohls by 8:00am because we both had $10 coupons to use. We earned them on our earlier visit today. Heaven forbid you should let a coupon go by. In the morning we went to Einsteins for a quick bagel then Kohls. Suz needed ice so we stopped at a Circle K and headed for home. We packed her car with fruit and veggies and the ever precious purchases from yesterday. She had a very full little Mini-Cooper.
I then had already packed for my next adventure. Gary needed a ride to Phoenix so we left around 9:00am. I dropped him off and headed for the West Valley. I was on my way to see Judi and my beloved girls Cami and Maddie. Judi's husband and son were in California so we had two days of just the girls. I was very excited to see them. They are like my adopted grandbabies. I arrived around 10am. Judi and I used to do the same thing Suz and I did. Now Judi does a lot of running with the three kids and has a very busy schedule. Our favorite thing to do together now is just hang. Spend our time just gellin and talking and spending quality time with the girls. We did head over to Judi's very special friends house to go swimming. I love Gaye too. She is so sweet and warm. We clicked the first time we met I think. We hung around the pool for quite a while just relaxing and catchin some rays. After that we went back to Judi's house. Cami, who is seven, called a friend and asked if she could come over. So that meant it was just Judi, Maddie and me. We headed off to one of the yummiest places to eat. Blu Burger. Yum !!!!!! Judi lives basically at Camelback and Jackrabbit and we went to somewhere north of Westgate. Judi said we were on the edge of Peoria. I have never been to Peoria so now I can claim I was. I know, it's not that exciting but it is always fun to go to new places.
Is this a boring blog? I hope I am not boring you all. It will be nice to have this in writing so I can go back and read it later. It will mean amazing memories for me. If you can't hang I will understand.
After dinner we went back and picked up Cami. We went back to the house and did a little more relaxing. I finally gave in and went to bed at 9:00. Me being the early riser woke up at a very late hour for me 7:00am. It felt good though. Nothing to feed but me!!! I made some coffee and sat out on their back patio. It was there I wrote the intro to my next set of blogs. There were birds to watch and I big crane hauling trusses around for the new houses being built behind their house. Judi and the girls woke around 9:00ish. We then did something I rarely do....NOTHING !!! we just relaxed, made a very healthy and yummy breakfast, watched Marmaduke, made a yummy healthy lunch. Judi needed to take Maddie to the dentist for a filling. Her appointment was at 1:10pm. Cami and I just stayed at home and watched a little more TV. At this point I really have been on the couch most of the day. I loved it and needed it. When Judi and Maddie came home we packed up our swim stuff and headed for Verado to get some gelato. My second round of gelato in just three days. Yum again!!! Maddie was so funny. Her mouth was numb from the dentist. When she smiled she had the cutest crooked smile. Maddie is almost five. She requested chocolate gelato. Oh my !!! We had the gelato experience. There was chocolate everywhere. It was fun!!!! After our tasty treats we went back over to Gaye's house for some more swimming. I got in the pool and did some moving around. After a day on the couch I felt like I needed a little exercise. Gaye made us a wonderful dinner too. After dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert we went back to Judi's. Judi's husband and son were coming home that evening and Judi had to drive to the airport and pick them up. Their plane came in around 10:00pm. I stayed home with the girls. I went to bed around 10:00. I was tired but in such a relaxed way. It felt so good. In the morning I got up at 6:30. I got dressed and went out on the patio again. Tim came out when he saw me and we chatted for a few minutes. I went in and made a big strong cup of coffee. Pretty soon everyone was up. I planned to leave around 11:00ish so we had a few more hours together. I had recorded the movie Eat Pray and Love for Judi and I to try and watch. With three kids in the house we knew it wasn't going to be easy but that was our goal before I had to come home. We did it !!!! There were a few interruptions but the movie ended just about 11:00. Off Judi went dropping kids here and there and I drove home.
Wow !!! Talk about a vacation. I really had so much fun. Running and running with Suz then chillin and swimmin with the girls. Lots of memories made in just a couple of days. Thank you Suz and Judi. I am so blessed to have both of you in my life. Love you!!!!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Kids and horses.. it doesn't get much better than that.
So today I had some long time friends come to visit. Jennifer, Gabrielle, Trey, Ethan and Josie. I first met Jen and her husband Mark at our old church. Of course I fell in love with Gabrielle because she was and still is such a sweet and beautiful child. I used to work in the children's ministry so I got to watch Gabrielle grow. Soon Trey came along. When I wasn't working in the kids' room I was holding a baby and for a long time it was Trey. I would see Jen and Mark come in and I would scoop Trey from their arms during worship music. For me that was such a joy. Holding that sweet baby while the music played. I felt so close to God then. It was my way of worshipping.
Gary and I left that church and moved on. I remember always saying to Mark (our old pastor) that I wish I could find a way to merge my love of horses with my love of kids. Several years later I did just that when I used to give lessons. Oh what a time we had. When I was diagnosed I had to give up the lessons because I just didn't have the energy it took. I am still very close with several of my old students. A few will stop by and play with me when they get a chance.
Jen and I stayed in touch. She also had two more beautiful children in that time. Through the years they have blessed me with visits and some very yummy food I might add. Today was one of those visits. We were talking and realized it has been two years since they first came to ride. Wow !!! Josie, the youngest was just two then. When we put her up on a horse we couldn't get her down. She LOVED !!! it. Today she actually got to ride all be herself on my amazing little horse Minnie. Talk about a gift from Go. Minnie is just that. Some day I will have to tell the stories of how my animals came to me. They ARE so gifts from God.
After we were done Gabrielle handed me a folded piece of paper and said she had written a poem for me. I am going to share that with you all. This is why I exist.
Leslie's Farm
Come to a farm where there's lots to do.
Chickens to feed and horses to groom.
Now meet the horses - Amy in the lead,
Then there's Bubba the mule who's stubborn and sweet.
Stray's second best, then Ginger who's proud, And all the dogs are friendly and loud.
The cats are shy, the chicks watch from the gate,
Now come here and start! No need to wait.
The owner of the farm is pretty and nice,
she's warm as a cookie, not cold as ice!
Her name is Leslie,she's as kind as can be,
If you like the description she's the person to see!
By Gabrielle S.
June 2,2011
Is that not the cutest thing ever !!!! Gabrielle is one of the girls that also sang me that amazing song a little while back. She didn't realize though that she left out Minnie, the wonder horse. That' okay, I even have a hard time remembering all my critters.
Gary and I left that church and moved on. I remember always saying to Mark (our old pastor) that I wish I could find a way to merge my love of horses with my love of kids. Several years later I did just that when I used to give lessons. Oh what a time we had. When I was diagnosed I had to give up the lessons because I just didn't have the energy it took. I am still very close with several of my old students. A few will stop by and play with me when they get a chance.
Jen and I stayed in touch. She also had two more beautiful children in that time. Through the years they have blessed me with visits and some very yummy food I might add. Today was one of those visits. We were talking and realized it has been two years since they first came to ride. Wow !!! Josie, the youngest was just two then. When we put her up on a horse we couldn't get her down. She LOVED !!! it. Today she actually got to ride all be herself on my amazing little horse Minnie. Talk about a gift from Go. Minnie is just that. Some day I will have to tell the stories of how my animals came to me. They ARE so gifts from God.
After we were done Gabrielle handed me a folded piece of paper and said she had written a poem for me. I am going to share that with you all. This is why I exist.
Leslie's Farm
Come to a farm where there's lots to do.
Chickens to feed and horses to groom.
Now meet the horses - Amy in the lead,
Then there's Bubba the mule who's stubborn and sweet.
Stray's second best, then Ginger who's proud, And all the dogs are friendly and loud.
The cats are shy, the chicks watch from the gate,
Now come here and start! No need to wait.
The owner of the farm is pretty and nice,
she's warm as a cookie, not cold as ice!
Her name is Leslie,she's as kind as can be,
If you like the description she's the person to see!
By Gabrielle S.
June 2,2011
Is that not the cutest thing ever !!!! Gabrielle is one of the girls that also sang me that amazing song a little while back. She didn't realize though that she left out Minnie, the wonder horse. That' okay, I even have a hard time remembering all my critters.
Chemo Drugs are such a confusing drug....why you ask?
Knowing your body is so very important going into chemo. Knowing what aches and pains you had before and any weird habits or strange patches of skin. For instance many of you know I was addicted to nose spray. For the last several years 4 Way brand has been my spray of choice. I don't go anywhere with out my spray. I can NOT stand the feeling of not being able to breathe through my nose. Like right now as I type I am feeling a little stuffy.
Well after several treatments of chemo I realized I wasn't using my nose spray as much. Just before I took this break I probably used my spray maybe once a month.How strange is that? Even stranger is now that I am on a break from chemo I am stuffed up a lot. I am trying not to use the spray but find it very difficult not to. So believe it or not chemo was good for keeping my nose clear, weird huh?
Okay, here is another weird one. I used to have this very rough spot of skin on my left knee. Gone !!!!! Yep, chemo changed it back to normal. I just checked it to make sure it was still gone and it is.
Of course you have all heard that when you loose your hair from chemo it will many times grow back the opposite of what it was. Like if you have curly it will grow back straight and vice versa. I have also heard it can grow back a different color. As short as mine still is it looks very straight compared to what it was. A funny story, I was in a grocery store and a women stopped me and said "you look so familiar to me. Did you recently cut your hair? Really???? I just looked at her and smiled and I said " when it fell out I did". Oh she said kind of embarrassed. I wasn't trying to be mean or a smart ass I just couldn't believe she would think I would cut it that short on purpose. On the good side I guess it looks pretty normal right now. It is still very short but filling in. I am not sure I want long hair again. I really am used to this look.
Now don't get me wrong. I still think chemo drugs are nasty. But at least when you have to have them look for interesting things they affect.
Well today and tomorrow I have some of my favorite kids coming to play with me and the horses. I am just so thankful I feel good and the weather is still cool enough that we can have some fun with the critters. If any one takes pics I am sure they will be on FaceBook so I will grab and post on my blog too.
Love you all so much. I now have 15 followers, WOW!!!!!! that is amazing. I know I don't post all that often now so thanks for hanging in there with me. I will try to be inspired to write more and try to remember to write stuff down too.
I am reading Betty White's new book (Thanks to my friend Dona who loaned it to me) and it is written similar to how I think I would or do write. She is a hoot.
Well after several treatments of chemo I realized I wasn't using my nose spray as much. Just before I took this break I probably used my spray maybe once a month.How strange is that? Even stranger is now that I am on a break from chemo I am stuffed up a lot. I am trying not to use the spray but find it very difficult not to. So believe it or not chemo was good for keeping my nose clear, weird huh?
Okay, here is another weird one. I used to have this very rough spot of skin on my left knee. Gone !!!!! Yep, chemo changed it back to normal. I just checked it to make sure it was still gone and it is.
Of course you have all heard that when you loose your hair from chemo it will many times grow back the opposite of what it was. Like if you have curly it will grow back straight and vice versa. I have also heard it can grow back a different color. As short as mine still is it looks very straight compared to what it was. A funny story, I was in a grocery store and a women stopped me and said "you look so familiar to me. Did you recently cut your hair? Really???? I just looked at her and smiled and I said " when it fell out I did". Oh she said kind of embarrassed. I wasn't trying to be mean or a smart ass I just couldn't believe she would think I would cut it that short on purpose. On the good side I guess it looks pretty normal right now. It is still very short but filling in. I am not sure I want long hair again. I really am used to this look.
Now don't get me wrong. I still think chemo drugs are nasty. But at least when you have to have them look for interesting things they affect.
Well today and tomorrow I have some of my favorite kids coming to play with me and the horses. I am just so thankful I feel good and the weather is still cool enough that we can have some fun with the critters. If any one takes pics I am sure they will be on FaceBook so I will grab and post on my blog too.
Love you all so much. I now have 15 followers, WOW!!!!!! that is amazing. I know I don't post all that often now so thanks for hanging in there with me. I will try to be inspired to write more and try to remember to write stuff down too.
I am reading Betty White's new book (Thanks to my friend Dona who loaned it to me) and it is written similar to how I think I would or do write. She is a hoot.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)