Bliggity Bloggity Boo(b)

My commercial wannabe

OK, so I need to get back to blogging.  Enough of I'm too busy to do this.  If y'all are on Facebook, you know that I recently was a finalist in the Sony "Be in the next commercial with Taylor Swift commercial".  Well, to make a long story short, the tribe has spoken and I wasn't chosen to go to the taping.  Oh well, I hear there will be another opportunity, so Mary Poppins has looked into her magic bag, and is pulling out some very cool stuff to help put together another video "in the most delightful way".  Stay tuned folks...Altered Bras will have an episode two.  But for now, here's a looksee at my first entry.  Yes, I'm a goofball, but that's what I do to keep me sane.  Yikes - give me a few while I head to the office to load it.  My wireless is not connecting to my work PC to download the video.

You're gonna miss this

I may be done with treatments, but there's always the thought in the back of my mind "what if it comes back?"  I'd been harping on my chemo oncologist to get a follow-up MRI but she refused and insisted everything that's been done wiped out the cancer. So I hit up my radiation oncologist and he agreed.  Off I headed to the noise chamber for 15 minutes of claustrophobic fun.  The tech gave me some headphones to listen to blaring country western music to cover up the noise.  This song by Trace Adkins came on during the last 2 minutes.  I was cracking up.

You're gonna miss this

You're gonna want this back

You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast

These Are Some Good Times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna miss this

OMG - too freaking funny!  Yeah, right, give me 14 more months of chemo and 6 weeks of radiation...it was ever so much fun.  At least I got a lot of good stories to tell to entertain my friends and family.  Thanks everyone for hanging in with me.  And yes, you can cry now if you need to :)

Twas the night before chemo ends

and all through the house, things are very status quo, I just kissed my spouse. We're celebrating surviving and not giving in, for cancer I've slayed, and I'm still able to grin.  There's been surgery and chemo, and tanning salons, endless doctors to visit and new wigs to don

But there've been tons of positives, I'll list some of them here

Such as not shaving my legs and no mascara to smear

I got to be crafty with my Sis during treatments

With huge thanks to Pamela for all of the chemo kits

We'd cut and we'd glue until my crossed eyes got bleary

Then she'd tell me to stop when the chemo made me weary

When the going gets tough the tough don't give in

So I hit up my fabulous photographer friend

Suzette strode to town with her camera and lights

To capture a glimpse of a point in my life

That could have been tortuous depressing and sad

but instead she made me feel beautiful, attractive, and glad

that I have such a friend who through thickness and thin

can stick by me and giggle and laugh to the end

So the end is in sight, a celebration awaits

We're heading to Phoenix to see da-da-da-dah... George Strait

A night much anticipated, we both need some fun

So wish us well on our adventure, to the land of the sun.

Thanks for hanging in for the past 14 months.  It's a journey I couldn't have navigated without the support of my incredible friends and family.  Pics to follow...

23 down - 1 to go

OMG, I can't believe it.  I only have one chemo treatment left to go.  I really thought this day would never get here, but as it approaches I'm filled with excitement beyond belief. Excitement for finishing chemo. Excitement for finishing radiation.  Excitement for surviving and thriving.  Excitement for keeping my job through the whole ordeal.  Excitement for having friends and family who stuck by me and put up with my demanding "You gotta be positive and no crying allowed" mantra. Excitement for putting this behind me.  Woo-freaking-hoo...I'm almost there.

Merry Chemo Christmas Eve

While most Christmas celebrators are bustling about preparing for Christmas, I had some last -minute pick up a dose or two of chemo moments.  Really, it wasn't a big deal, just went into the office to work for 2.5 hours, then headed over to the local lounge to enjoy the holiday spirits.  While sitting with my IV working on an accessory guide for work, my adorable new friend, Mr. Mitchell came in.

He, as usual had a smile on his face and a bounce in his step.  The nurses were as delighted as I was when he came to visit, as his cheery voice and twinkling eyes made everyone around him feel happy.  "I just came in to see all of my favorite ladies, and to bring you a healthy holiday gift" he exclaimed.  He snickered as he showed them the fruit bowl he had purchased then grinned as he read the card aloud. "To all my favorite ladies.  Love, Tiger"  OMG we all busted up.  He is so cute and so proud of himself for making us laugh.

Thank you and Merry Christmas to my delightful cocktail buddy...Mr. Mitchell.

Chemo is a good thing

I'm backtracking a bit with updates from the past. 

I went to chemo today and met the most delightful gentleman, Mr. Mitchell, who's around 80 or so.  He came be-bopping into the treatment center singing jingle bells. He took a chair next to me and said, good morning beautiful, how are you. I told him I was just dandy and he grinned.  Mr. Mitchell has chemo once a week and transfusions 5 times a week, one week a month.  He says in the most positive way with a smile on his face, "You know, this chemo is a good thing.  Because without it, we'd be dead." So true, so upbeat, and so encouraging to see another soul battling cancer in a positive way.  We chatted for awhile and then he went back to singing Christmas carols.  What a shining star in a potentially gloomy atmosphere.

Altered Bra Contest Winner

OMG, it's been a long time since I've posted.  Too much of life getting in the way. I just realized I never posted my entry to the altered bra contest at Survivor Crop.  As many of you know, I decided long ago to make pink lemonade out of the lemon boob that I was dealt.  So what's a breast cancer survivor to do, why make a lemon bra of course.  I had too much fun making a mold over the bra, baking it, and then forming the lemon from Crayola air dry clay.  I added some clear glitter to make it look like a sugar coated lemon.

I took the bra to both my treatment center, and to my oncologist appointments last week.  They are fighting over getting it to display in their offices.  Seriously folks, these treatment centers and oncology offices need more than their fair share of levity.  It can be such gloom and doom, with all of the sick, and many of them dying patients.  I'm going to hit up some of the other ladies who made altered bras to see if they'd donate or lend them to the offices.  If it can bring giggles and grins to some of these sick people, I would be thrilled. 

And here it is.....

Survivor Crop - scrapbooking for a cause

I'm so excited to be on the comittee for Survivor Crop this year.  This amazing 24-hour scrapbooking event raises money for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation.  We're in our 8th year and have raised nearly $300,000 for San Diego breast cancer patients. 

The ladies are chomping at the bit and busy creating island decorations for the islands.  We have plenty of contests, games and prizes in store, plus the silent auction, which is always a huge hit.  If interested in joining us, here's a link to the registration page.

If interested in making a difference and donating to Komen for the Cure, please go to my personal page. 

Free at last!

 

OK, so my postings have been few and far between lately, and this one is about two weeks overdue.  I finally got fed up with the wig gig and decided to toss it once and for all.  I was taking it off in the parking garage at work, because frankly, I was getting headaches from the pressure dents caused by the elastic.  I wasn't wearing it anywhere but at work, and I figured people at work know me well enough that they can get used to my Annie Lennox look.

My buzz cut (OK, so it's not a buzz cut if I haven't had my hair cut in over a year, but you get the idea) made its debut on a Friday. I had the full gamut of reactions from OMG, you can't walk around the office like that, to Wow - you look so fashionable.  It's been pretty amusing to say the least.  I get the looks from eyes averting because I obviously have a cancer hairdo, to WTF, why in the world would anybody cut their hair so short, to you have guts to wear your hair that short, and my favorite - wow, you are so totally rock star.

With the heat wave we've been having, this is the most awesome style imaginable.  Plus, my adoring hubby loves it! (or maybe he just loves the fact that I have hair for the first time in nine months :-)

I'll have Kyle take a pic later today and will post it then. It won't be as good as the bald shots that Suzette took, but you'll get the idea.

Look what your wife can do!

The other evening I was delighted to have the opportunity to babysit Kayla, my boss's daughter.  In addition to being adorable, she's quite precocious and so full of energy.

When we got home, we played outside with the dog, climbed on rocks, and picked flowers.  She even picked a begonia and put it in my hair.  After it got dark, we went inside and ate dinner, made a scrapbook, and then made brownies.  Kayla was so excited because she said she only knew how to make cookies, and now she would be an expert brownie maker.

We were nearly finished making the brownies (she was in the licking the beater stage) when I had had way too much of the head squeezing wig.  So I said to Kayla, "Do you know what I usually do at this time of night?"  "No", she said.  "What do you do?"  "I usually take my hair off, because it's really tight on my head."  "You do?" she squealed and giggled as I yanked off my wig.  "Do you mean I put a flower in your wig?  It wasn't your real hair?" When she was done giggling, she said, "Wait, put it back on!  I have to show your husband!" 

Kayla ran out of the room and found Denny.  She told him "You have to come see what your wife can do!"  And she proceeded to lead him by the hand into the kitchen to show him the magic.  He played along and acted totally surprised as she yanked off my wig.  Endless giggling ensued.

And that my friends, is what keeps me smiling.  Big hugs to Kayla for making my week.