Tuesday, August 19
Jeff is up early to go with Alex to get some business taken care of before he moves with us to Austin. I bum around the apartment, talk on the phone and catch up with blogging before napping. Yawn! I know, I’m so thrilling today! I DO find out, however, that plans are in the works for my friends throwing me a benefit concert at JP Hops House in September. Oh, wow. I don’t know how to think about this but resolve to give the money to folks who need it more than Jeff and I. We are so blessed with savings and insurance where so many are not. I will find folks like single mothers who cannot afford babysitters and food because of their lack of employment due to treatment. Now, I know how to feel about my friends throwing a party/benefit for me….it feels really, really special and good. I adore my buds and feel so lucky, I really do. They say that the key to a good life is to surround yourself with positive and loving people and to ignore the negative people around you. I have a very good life, I’m thinking. =)
Jeff comes back around Noon with Alex and we take care of some other business via internet. All done and ready to go! We get Popeye’s for lunch and then Jeff takes Alex back to Grandmom’s. Once back, Jeff naps and I close the curtains for him while the rain outside patters and lulls him into a deeper sleep. Jeff had stated that he wanted to sit in on the Aikido class over in the 290/Bammel N Houston area this evening, so I make plans to hook up with my best friend for dinner. At about 5pm, I wake Jeff and we get ready to roll. We’ve made plans to hook up with Selia, Kent and Sue a bit later for a going away glass of wine and I want to give Selia and Kent their thank you gift and card, anyway, so we make plans to buy a couple of bottles of wine to bring over there.
I drop Jeff at the Dojo after an unsuccessful attempt to find good quality wine at a little liquor store in a bad part of town. Afterwards, I drive over to Costco to see what kind of reserve wines they have. I pick out a Merlot and a Cabernet Savignon that sound yummy in their descriptions and hope that they’ll be up to speed! Both sound delish but Selia and Kent are very well versed in red wines and I’m not sure what their preferences are. Dry? Sweet? Fruity? Only the shadow knows.
It feels so good to drive and shop again that I just want to linger at Costco, but I call Salle and head over to meet her for dinner. We have a lot of laughs and catch up quite a bit but I wasn’t feeling the best because I only took Ibuprofen because of the driving and future wine consumption. Crawl, Walk, Run. I SO want to run, but I’m afraid that I must resign myself to a slow shuffle for now. Ow, ow, ow. Patience, grasshopper! Still, emotionally, I had a great time ‘cause I felt nearly back to normal, if not for the pain.
Our Aikido friend, Andrew, drops Jeff off and we head on back to Spring Branch. I gobble down my pain meds ‘cause it’s just silly not to at this point, I’m in so much pain. After a bit of a lie down, I feel better and we head over to Selia’s to pop open the bottle of Napa Merlot. Yup, it’s good! I'm not drinking anything but wine because I know my body won't like carbonation. The little bit that I have tonight is just right. Selia really likes the Friendship candle that we got for them and the box that it comes in is really spectacular, opening up like a flower to reveal the actual gift. Kent loves the card. Perfect sentiment and I think it beats the Perry Steakhouse Gift Certificate that we’d originally thought of! Sue joins us in her jammies, I’m in mine and it’s a Pajama party, officially. The conversation is so fun that we end up staying until Midnight before noticing the time. Back to the ranch and to sleep, for tomorrow, we depart for home in Cedar Park!! =) Yay, but I’ll miss this place and these folks, absolutely and for sure….
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday, August 18
Up and at 'em at 9am after having a weird night's sleep for both of us. Must be something in the air. My blood work at MD Anderson is set for 11:15, so we get cleaned up, have breakfast and hit the road. $10 for parking gets us into the machine that is MD A and I go in to wait for an hour for the vampires to take my blood. It's cold as the arctic in their waiting rooms almost every time, so it pays to bring a sweater. I, of course, forgot this tidbit of previous information so I hunker down to Jeff like a second skin to share his warmth. Afterward, it's off to the cafeteria to wolf down Chick-Fil-A nuggets and waffle fries. Nutrition is key when you're in the hospital, right? We head back over to G5 ward, where I was installed as a patient, so that I can fill out a "SuperStar!" form for Jeffrey, a nurse's aide who wasn't even assigned to me but stepped in when I was sick as a dog and ralphing in my room. MY Jeff would not have been able to hold me up because of his arm so it was amazing that this guy was just walking by when I got woozy and ill. He kept checking on me after that and we'd always wave in the halls as I'd go for my exercise figure eights. Great guy, and here I forgot to write him up! Jeffrey is there and so are two of the nurses who cared for me while I was in the clinker. They ooooh and ahhh over how good both Jeff and I are doing and it's like a little reunion. Very cute and so sweet that they remembered me. I was a total makeupless mess with my hair pulled back and bone white while I was under their care, so I'm surprised that they recognized me!
We check all of the book nooks on different floors for the third novel in a series that Jeff has gotten into and then it's off to see Dr. Lambert at A Elevator, Level 7, Azalea waiting room. FYI, MD Anderson has a cool book borrowing system whereby you can borrow a book on the honor system and then bring it back in. It works really well there because folks are very frequently coming back for follow-ups and chemo. Jeff and I are going to start up a mini-library in the Round Rock cancer center, if they don't have one already. It's just SUCH a great idea, I think.
On the 7th floor, Elevator A GI ward check-in area, I pay for the co-pay, get my vitals taken and then wait to be called in the azalea room. I am THRILLED 'caues I've lost 14 pounds since surgery! Oh, man, I have GOT to keep my tummy tiny so that I can go for another 20 more. We go in and who should come bobbing into the room but Dr. Mammon and his sidekick 3rd year med student, William Mitchell!! What's really weird is that I'm so happy to see them both, like they're old friends, and they're grinning from ear to ear, as well! Lol. Doc. Lambert comes in beaming and we all congratulate each other on a job well done, me and my belly. I should expect to have a bit of a rumply scar for at least a year, but that's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. Doc. L. asks what else she can do for me and I tell her that she's done enough, thank you very much. She's an amazing lady and I'm extremely fortunate and I tell her so. She ignores the praise and smilingly tells me to call her if I need anything.
Jeff and I are freed from the med center and go by Perry's Steakhouse to pick up a thank you gift certificate for my bud, Bryan, who helped me finish out the transaction on a lot that I was almost complete on. We shop a little for Selia, too, and then it's back home to catch up on blogging, walk to the park and just plain jell for awhile. Tonight, we're getting together with Selia, Kent, Chris Collins and his wifey, Leah. Maybe we can get Ken and Sue to join us, who knows? Jeff is hungry and staring at me to try to get me to check on what's for dinner instead of blogging, so I must sign off for now and will come back later.....bon appetit!~
Jeff and I end up having Chili's for dinner, after checking with Selia & Chris to see what they've got planned for dinner. Chris and Leah have eaten so Jeff and I snark on Chicken Enchilada Soup for me and ribs, salmon, veggies and taters for him. All I need is a rib or two, a small portion of the fish and a couple of veggies to fill out my tummy. Half the soup and I'm full o' vitamins in the right proportions. =) Over the cobbles and through the backyard, to Selia's house we go....
Chris and Leah show up at about 7:30 to see the guest house and then we traipse across the back yard to Selia's for some comraderie in the kitchen. Selia left a message for Saylor and Sheryl, but they're apparently busy for the evening, so it's Selia and Kent, Ken and Sue, Jeff and I and Chris and Leah sittin' round the table this time. Chris Collins is another fantastic musician who does, among his other projects, John Denver tribute concerts, etc. He is also quite the raconteur and tells some great stories, like this one, the tale of the high maintenance panhandler:
Chris was in Lake Tahoe a few days ago to do a concert and was at a Subway sandwich shop with a friend. An obviously mentally disabled man came up to Chris and asked him if Chris would buy him a sandwich. Chris is so generous and said, "Sure thing, hop in line with us." The guy waited a few minutes and then asked, "Can I have a foot long?" Chris says, "Okay." A few minutes later, "Can I have extra turkey on it?" Chris again says, "Um, sure." A few minutes later...."Can I get a large drink?" Too funny! Of course, Chris ends up buying him the large drink, chips and the foot long extra turkey sandwich. After they finish up, the fellow comes over to Chris' table and asks, "Can I have a couple of bucks?" Chris complied and went away feeling good and had a great story to tell, as well. Might be a song in it, who knows?
He says that he got his Karmic repayment on the airplane ride home. A good looking brunette had the window seat, with him in the middle seat and Chris awoke mid-flight to a pair of boobs in the face. The woman was trying not to wake him and did the crab crawl over him, only to fall onto his body face first when the plane lurched! Lol.....good gosh, what a way to wake up! Like I said, Chris is a natural storyteller and all around nice guy. Everyone Loves the man. He is also the co-founder, along with me, of HAAM, The Houston Association of Acoustic Musicians, which is how we became great buds. He's like my brother, seriously, and is one of my best friends.
Anyway, we have a great evening again with this group, talking about dog stories and early childhood/teenaged years and Selia makes strange looking, yet delicious, canapes. We head home again feeling fine about our buddies and hit the sack early. Jeff has a mission of mercy tomorrow morning and needs to catch up from our weird night's sleep last night. Sweet dreams!
We check all of the book nooks on different floors for the third novel in a series that Jeff has gotten into and then it's off to see Dr. Lambert at A Elevator, Level 7, Azalea waiting room. FYI, MD Anderson has a cool book borrowing system whereby you can borrow a book on the honor system and then bring it back in. It works really well there because folks are very frequently coming back for follow-ups and chemo. Jeff and I are going to start up a mini-library in the Round Rock cancer center, if they don't have one already. It's just SUCH a great idea, I think.
On the 7th floor, Elevator A GI ward check-in area, I pay for the co-pay, get my vitals taken and then wait to be called in the azalea room. I am THRILLED 'caues I've lost 14 pounds since surgery! Oh, man, I have GOT to keep my tummy tiny so that I can go for another 20 more. We go in and who should come bobbing into the room but Dr. Mammon and his sidekick 3rd year med student, William Mitchell!! What's really weird is that I'm so happy to see them both, like they're old friends, and they're grinning from ear to ear, as well! Lol. Doc. Lambert comes in beaming and we all congratulate each other on a job well done, me and my belly. I should expect to have a bit of a rumply scar for at least a year, but that's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. Doc. L. asks what else she can do for me and I tell her that she's done enough, thank you very much. She's an amazing lady and I'm extremely fortunate and I tell her so. She ignores the praise and smilingly tells me to call her if I need anything.
Jeff and I are freed from the med center and go by Perry's Steakhouse to pick up a thank you gift certificate for my bud, Bryan, who helped me finish out the transaction on a lot that I was almost complete on. We shop a little for Selia, too, and then it's back home to catch up on blogging, walk to the park and just plain jell for awhile. Tonight, we're getting together with Selia, Kent, Chris Collins and his wifey, Leah. Maybe we can get Ken and Sue to join us, who knows? Jeff is hungry and staring at me to try to get me to check on what's for dinner instead of blogging, so I must sign off for now and will come back later.....bon appetit!~
Jeff and I end up having Chili's for dinner, after checking with Selia & Chris to see what they've got planned for dinner. Chris and Leah have eaten so Jeff and I snark on Chicken Enchilada Soup for me and ribs, salmon, veggies and taters for him. All I need is a rib or two, a small portion of the fish and a couple of veggies to fill out my tummy. Half the soup and I'm full o' vitamins in the right proportions. =) Over the cobbles and through the backyard, to Selia's house we go....
Chris and Leah show up at about 7:30 to see the guest house and then we traipse across the back yard to Selia's for some comraderie in the kitchen. Selia left a message for Saylor and Sheryl, but they're apparently busy for the evening, so it's Selia and Kent, Ken and Sue, Jeff and I and Chris and Leah sittin' round the table this time. Chris Collins is another fantastic musician who does, among his other projects, John Denver tribute concerts, etc. He is also quite the raconteur and tells some great stories, like this one, the tale of the high maintenance panhandler:
Chris was in Lake Tahoe a few days ago to do a concert and was at a Subway sandwich shop with a friend. An obviously mentally disabled man came up to Chris and asked him if Chris would buy him a sandwich. Chris is so generous and said, "Sure thing, hop in line with us." The guy waited a few minutes and then asked, "Can I have a foot long?" Chris says, "Okay." A few minutes later, "Can I have extra turkey on it?" Chris again says, "Um, sure." A few minutes later...."Can I get a large drink?" Too funny! Of course, Chris ends up buying him the large drink, chips and the foot long extra turkey sandwich. After they finish up, the fellow comes over to Chris' table and asks, "Can I have a couple of bucks?" Chris complied and went away feeling good and had a great story to tell, as well. Might be a song in it, who knows?
He says that he got his Karmic repayment on the airplane ride home. A good looking brunette had the window seat, with him in the middle seat and Chris awoke mid-flight to a pair of boobs in the face. The woman was trying not to wake him and did the crab crawl over him, only to fall onto his body face first when the plane lurched! Lol.....good gosh, what a way to wake up! Like I said, Chris is a natural storyteller and all around nice guy. Everyone Loves the man. He is also the co-founder, along with me, of HAAM, The Houston Association of Acoustic Musicians, which is how we became great buds. He's like my brother, seriously, and is one of my best friends.
Anyway, we have a great evening again with this group, talking about dog stories and early childhood/teenaged years and Selia makes strange looking, yet delicious, canapes. We head home again feeling fine about our buddies and hit the sack early. Jeff has a mission of mercy tomorrow morning and needs to catch up from our weird night's sleep last night. Sweet dreams!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sunday, August 17
Sunday, August 17
Jeff and I decide that today is going to be a ‘spud day,’ nothing on the agenda and nowhere to go, a day to lounge like lizards and do nada, nix and nothing. Sounds great. However, Jeff’s dad calls and asks if they can come visit, which sounds nice, so we get ready for their visit and then go back to spudding out. We head over to La Madeline for lunch and I totally get into their Tomato Basil soup and turkey sandwich. Oh, yum, I adore their tomato soup though it is the most fattening thing on the planet! Can’t eat much and I end up giving about half of my meal to Jeff, again. Chow, chow, chow, my sweet Jeffrey! He is my disposal and is happy of it. Back at the apartment, we show my Dad in law and his lovely wife, Sandy, around the back yard and a little bit of Selia’s Wildlife Habitat next door. Yep, they’re blown away by the beautiful surroundings. Hard not to be. Her backyard is good for ANYONE’s soul, ill or not. They take off for their home in Lake Livingston and Jeff and I go back to spudsville, with him on the computer being Project Jeff and me napping on the sofa, semi watching Antiques Roadshow. Now, after taking more pain meds, I’m catching up on blogging, listening to the rain and dreading the time that I have to go back and re-trace the hospital adventures. The hospital day blogs are very important, though, because I can share so many great things with you….I’ll get ‘em done but it may take a few more days. Today, I am a spud and no one can take that away from me! =) I will be downright useful again soon, medically speaking, but for now, you get to just read my mundane little diary, lucky you.
I wonder if anyone who needs it can even FIND my blog, though, 'cause I can't seem to successfully locate it on Google with the verbiage that I think folks will use to locate help. So, how helpful to others am I, really, with this blog? I'm thinking not much at this point, but I intend to publish my experiences and make the blog more noteworthy soon, so I hope that it will, indeed, be as helpful as I originally intended it to be. It's becoming more of a diary, with some helpful hints thrown in, these days. However, I will put in more pertinent information when I can get the time. If you have been reading these posts and have cancer, please let me know, k? I'll do whatever I can to help out and/or become a pen pal support person for you. I can and will let you know what to expect out of MD Anderson and/or about your surgery, so let me know. I'll redouble my efforts to get the blog up to date and clinically helpful, if I know someone is actually benefitting from my rambling.... =)
Jeff and I decide that today is going to be a ‘spud day,’ nothing on the agenda and nowhere to go, a day to lounge like lizards and do nada, nix and nothing. Sounds great. However, Jeff’s dad calls and asks if they can come visit, which sounds nice, so we get ready for their visit and then go back to spudding out. We head over to La Madeline for lunch and I totally get into their Tomato Basil soup and turkey sandwich. Oh, yum, I adore their tomato soup though it is the most fattening thing on the planet! Can’t eat much and I end up giving about half of my meal to Jeff, again. Chow, chow, chow, my sweet Jeffrey! He is my disposal and is happy of it. Back at the apartment, we show my Dad in law and his lovely wife, Sandy, around the back yard and a little bit of Selia’s Wildlife Habitat next door. Yep, they’re blown away by the beautiful surroundings. Hard not to be. Her backyard is good for ANYONE’s soul, ill or not. They take off for their home in Lake Livingston and Jeff and I go back to spudsville, with him on the computer being Project Jeff and me napping on the sofa, semi watching Antiques Roadshow. Now, after taking more pain meds, I’m catching up on blogging, listening to the rain and dreading the time that I have to go back and re-trace the hospital adventures. The hospital day blogs are very important, though, because I can share so many great things with you….I’ll get ‘em done but it may take a few more days. Today, I am a spud and no one can take that away from me! =) I will be downright useful again soon, medically speaking, but for now, you get to just read my mundane little diary, lucky you.
I wonder if anyone who needs it can even FIND my blog, though, 'cause I can't seem to successfully locate it on Google with the verbiage that I think folks will use to locate help. So, how helpful to others am I, really, with this blog? I'm thinking not much at this point, but I intend to publish my experiences and make the blog more noteworthy soon, so I hope that it will, indeed, be as helpful as I originally intended it to be. It's becoming more of a diary, with some helpful hints thrown in, these days. However, I will put in more pertinent information when I can get the time. If you have been reading these posts and have cancer, please let me know, k? I'll do whatever I can to help out and/or become a pen pal support person for you. I can and will let you know what to expect out of MD Anderson and/or about your surgery, so let me know. I'll redouble my efforts to get the blog up to date and clinically helpful, if I know someone is actually benefitting from my rambling.... =)
Friday, Saturday, August 15 & 16
Saturday, August 16
Not much occurred yesterday, Friday, except for Joanne Sprott coming over to visit for a bit. Also, we took a walk in the rain. Oh, yeah, then we went to HFCU to transfer some money to different accounts and then had sushi at RedFish. Jeff gets the lion’s share of the rolls ‘cause I get filled up on miso soup….tiny tummy April is in da house! Jeff is going to gain SO much weight at this rate, cleaning up after I’m full. I’m liking the fact that it doesn’t take much to fill me up these days. I wonder how much weight I’ve lost. I can see that it’s quite a bit by looking at my face in the mirror. I have cheekbones! ! I get sweats and chills pretty quickly and we, thankfully, get back in the car where I can adjust the seating and temperature to suit my needs. MUCH better….
Jeff takes me on a quick trip by Kohl’s to search for more yoga pants (no luck there) and then by mom’s to pick up some of my shoes. A blown kiss to the formerly ill girlie, Andi, and a hug to the Alex boyo, then back to the apartment. Later this evening, we watch a little bit of a movie loaned to us by Ken and Sue, “Off the Map,” but I get to feeling poorly, maybe from the Schlotzsky’s, and fall asleep early Friday night. We are SUCH party people these days!
Saturday morning, we get cleaned up so that we can go to collect my staging supplies from my very last listing here in Houston. It’s sold, hurray!!! My bud, Bryan Causey, has taken over the transaction for me and I cannot thank him enough for that. Nice not to have to worry about business while I’m worried about my gastrointestinal health and ability to process food properly, you know? He’s a doll and will forever be on my Christmas list. Around Noon, we head on over to the house, which is in our old neighborhood in Cypress, TX, and pack up 3 boxes of decorations/silk plants. Jeff has to hoist them himself, with his left arm in the sling. This sucks and hurts him quite a bit, but we don’t see an alternative. We drop by my office, where my thoughtful broker has volunteered space for us, and Dan Hodgson carries the boxes into the back room for Jeff. He and his wife, Theresa, are great folks, cream of the crop and salt of the earth kind of people. We’re so grateful for Dan’s help and are gladdened to hear that Theresa has had some great luck with business recently. Good things happen to good people, it's true.
Afterwards, we head by my mom’s to give her, Alex and our dog, KC, a hug before heading back to the apartment. I take a whirl on her scales to see what my weight is and find that I’ve lost at LEAST 10 lbs. already! Yay!!! A stop by CVS, a stop by Subway, and we’re back at the ranch. Jeff is, as of last night, HIGHLY obsessed with a new program that will take your floor plans and make them so that you can ‘go inside’ your home to view how it’ll look, once built. Pretty cool, but he is totally driven by this program instead of the other way around. “Project Jeff” has entered the building! My husband will take on a project and hyperfocus so much that nothing else enters his attention bubble for the duration of the obsession. At this point, I call him the project man, or Project Jeff. When housed with Project Jeff, I am left to my own devices, largely, for much of the afternoon. I read a little, nap a little. I go to take a walk down Hazelhurst, though, and Jeff puts aside the project and joins me, miracle of miracles. We get back and he's back on the computer again. That's fine because he's making incredible progress and is able, in so short a time, to give us a peek at what our house may end up looking like when we build it. Jeff is so multi-talented and, when he takes on a project, he does it RIGHT! I love that.
Later, we head to Kroger to pick up fresh supplies, including some cute bowls that we’ll leave here at Selia’s. Picked up Wendy’s food on the way home and I THOUGHT that I’d be safe eating ½ bowl of chili and ½ baked potato. I was wrong, wrong, so, so wrong. I won’t be eating anything like that again anytime soon, that’s for sure! My beloved enchiladas y tacos will have to wait a very, very long time until we meet again, more’s the pity.
We get home and I crash for a bit. I’m getting a lot of exercise for being such a feeb right now and it wears me out pretty quickly. We finish out “Off the Map” and are totally charmed by this off the wall, off the map movie. What acting! Little Valentina De Angelis is an amazing little actress and the story line is non-standard and full of interesting little points, which is refreshing. If you like slice of life movies that hit on some unusual subjects and pique one’s intellectual interest, you might like this one.
Jim and Cynthia Kam come over for a couple of hours during the evening and we have a great time catching up and joking about illnesses and teenaged boys. (They have 2 of ‘em and our one is keeping us hopping. Alex will be moving to Austin with us next week, I think.) They take off around 10:30 after we watch Michael Phelps win his 8th freakin’ medal in the Olympics. What an athelete! I will forever remember this Olympics as it has been somewhat the background music for my life after surgery at this point. I don’t usually get into sports that much but this year is phenomenal, isn’t it? Worth the watch each time.
We hit the sack almost immediately after they take off for a bit of snuggling and cuddling in the queen sized bed. With Jeff’s shoulder problem and my incision, we haven’t been able to do this in far too long a time and it’s just so nice to renew our cuddles. After about 20 minutes of snoozing together, we set up the “rushing river” sounds on the computer (a sleep aid for me and an inspiration to sing for the frogs outside the bathroom window) and hit our respective beds. Ah, sleep is so good but chili is SO bad. I don’t get a lot of sleep, unfortunately, but well, every experiment can’t come out positive. I'll live but life sucks when you're crampy, sleepy, grumpy and several other of the less positive dwarves....
Not much occurred yesterday, Friday, except for Joanne Sprott coming over to visit for a bit. Also, we took a walk in the rain. Oh, yeah, then we went to HFCU to transfer some money to different accounts and then had sushi at RedFish. Jeff gets the lion’s share of the rolls ‘cause I get filled up on miso soup….tiny tummy April is in da house! Jeff is going to gain SO much weight at this rate, cleaning up after I’m full. I’m liking the fact that it doesn’t take much to fill me up these days. I wonder how much weight I’ve lost. I can see that it’s quite a bit by looking at my face in the mirror. I have cheekbones! ! I get sweats and chills pretty quickly and we, thankfully, get back in the car where I can adjust the seating and temperature to suit my needs. MUCH better….
Jeff takes me on a quick trip by Kohl’s to search for more yoga pants (no luck there) and then by mom’s to pick up some of my shoes. A blown kiss to the formerly ill girlie, Andi, and a hug to the Alex boyo, then back to the apartment. Later this evening, we watch a little bit of a movie loaned to us by Ken and Sue, “Off the Map,” but I get to feeling poorly, maybe from the Schlotzsky’s, and fall asleep early Friday night. We are SUCH party people these days!
Saturday morning, we get cleaned up so that we can go to collect my staging supplies from my very last listing here in Houston. It’s sold, hurray!!! My bud, Bryan Causey, has taken over the transaction for me and I cannot thank him enough for that. Nice not to have to worry about business while I’m worried about my gastrointestinal health and ability to process food properly, you know? He’s a doll and will forever be on my Christmas list. Around Noon, we head on over to the house, which is in our old neighborhood in Cypress, TX, and pack up 3 boxes of decorations/silk plants. Jeff has to hoist them himself, with his left arm in the sling. This sucks and hurts him quite a bit, but we don’t see an alternative. We drop by my office, where my thoughtful broker has volunteered space for us, and Dan Hodgson carries the boxes into the back room for Jeff. He and his wife, Theresa, are great folks, cream of the crop and salt of the earth kind of people. We’re so grateful for Dan’s help and are gladdened to hear that Theresa has had some great luck with business recently. Good things happen to good people, it's true.
Afterwards, we head by my mom’s to give her, Alex and our dog, KC, a hug before heading back to the apartment. I take a whirl on her scales to see what my weight is and find that I’ve lost at LEAST 10 lbs. already! Yay!!! A stop by CVS, a stop by Subway, and we’re back at the ranch. Jeff is, as of last night, HIGHLY obsessed with a new program that will take your floor plans and make them so that you can ‘go inside’ your home to view how it’ll look, once built. Pretty cool, but he is totally driven by this program instead of the other way around. “Project Jeff” has entered the building! My husband will take on a project and hyperfocus so much that nothing else enters his attention bubble for the duration of the obsession. At this point, I call him the project man, or Project Jeff. When housed with Project Jeff, I am left to my own devices, largely, for much of the afternoon. I read a little, nap a little. I go to take a walk down Hazelhurst, though, and Jeff puts aside the project and joins me, miracle of miracles. We get back and he's back on the computer again. That's fine because he's making incredible progress and is able, in so short a time, to give us a peek at what our house may end up looking like when we build it. Jeff is so multi-talented and, when he takes on a project, he does it RIGHT! I love that.
Later, we head to Kroger to pick up fresh supplies, including some cute bowls that we’ll leave here at Selia’s. Picked up Wendy’s food on the way home and I THOUGHT that I’d be safe eating ½ bowl of chili and ½ baked potato. I was wrong, wrong, so, so wrong. I won’t be eating anything like that again anytime soon, that’s for sure! My beloved enchiladas y tacos will have to wait a very, very long time until we meet again, more’s the pity.
We get home and I crash for a bit. I’m getting a lot of exercise for being such a feeb right now and it wears me out pretty quickly. We finish out “Off the Map” and are totally charmed by this off the wall, off the map movie. What acting! Little Valentina De Angelis is an amazing little actress and the story line is non-standard and full of interesting little points, which is refreshing. If you like slice of life movies that hit on some unusual subjects and pique one’s intellectual interest, you might like this one.
Jim and Cynthia Kam come over for a couple of hours during the evening and we have a great time catching up and joking about illnesses and teenaged boys. (They have 2 of ‘em and our one is keeping us hopping. Alex will be moving to Austin with us next week, I think.) They take off around 10:30 after we watch Michael Phelps win his 8th freakin’ medal in the Olympics. What an athelete! I will forever remember this Olympics as it has been somewhat the background music for my life after surgery at this point. I don’t usually get into sports that much but this year is phenomenal, isn’t it? Worth the watch each time.
We hit the sack almost immediately after they take off for a bit of snuggling and cuddling in the queen sized bed. With Jeff’s shoulder problem and my incision, we haven’t been able to do this in far too long a time and it’s just so nice to renew our cuddles. After about 20 minutes of snoozing together, we set up the “rushing river” sounds on the computer (a sleep aid for me and an inspiration to sing for the frogs outside the bathroom window) and hit our respective beds. Ah, sleep is so good but chili is SO bad. I don’t get a lot of sleep, unfortunately, but well, every experiment can’t come out positive. I'll live but life sucks when you're crampy, sleepy, grumpy and several other of the less positive dwarves....
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14
Thursday, August 14
Not much to talk about, this day. Jeff and Alex went to run an errand during the afternoon and I was again left to my own devices. I caught up on my blogging to a small degree and read a little, doing a bit o’ research into chemo and diet related concerns. Low key day, but we went next door to Ken and Sue’s this evening, met their darling doggie and watched a pretty cool little movie, “Everything is Illuminated.” Pretty funny, touching and quirky, just like we like ‘em. So tired of McMovies these days. We finished the movie by 9:30, said our goodnights and walked the 10 feet or so to our front door. Exhausting commute. A little TV and then to bed.
I awoke at 5am to severe abdominal pain and nausea, don’t know why. Took my pain meds and then rolled around a bit to try to find a comfy position. Nope, ain’t gonna happen. I was up for about an hour and then fell asleep to dream disturbing dreams about Jeff. Dang, I can’t wait to get healthy again.
On this day, I’m pondering the wisdom of becoming a “Juicer,” my slang for those kinds of folks who go ‘raw’ with their diets and avoid beef and processed foodage. My cousin is one of them and she sends me all kinds of scary links about how to do your own food processing/become a juicer. Is there a midway point, I wonder? Can I occasionally have my burger with fries or is this thing an all or nothing proposition? If it’s all or nothing, I’m not sure I’m up for it, but if there’s a bit of leeway, I could limit myself. Something to think about, though eating right is cost prohibitive these days. We shall see if I do, indeed, turn to the ‘green’ side..stay tuned, bat fans....
Not much to talk about, this day. Jeff and Alex went to run an errand during the afternoon and I was again left to my own devices. I caught up on my blogging to a small degree and read a little, doing a bit o’ research into chemo and diet related concerns. Low key day, but we went next door to Ken and Sue’s this evening, met their darling doggie and watched a pretty cool little movie, “Everything is Illuminated.” Pretty funny, touching and quirky, just like we like ‘em. So tired of McMovies these days. We finished the movie by 9:30, said our goodnights and walked the 10 feet or so to our front door. Exhausting commute. A little TV and then to bed.
I awoke at 5am to severe abdominal pain and nausea, don’t know why. Took my pain meds and then rolled around a bit to try to find a comfy position. Nope, ain’t gonna happen. I was up for about an hour and then fell asleep to dream disturbing dreams about Jeff. Dang, I can’t wait to get healthy again.
On this day, I’m pondering the wisdom of becoming a “Juicer,” my slang for those kinds of folks who go ‘raw’ with their diets and avoid beef and processed foodage. My cousin is one of them and she sends me all kinds of scary links about how to do your own food processing/become a juicer. Is there a midway point, I wonder? Can I occasionally have my burger with fries or is this thing an all or nothing proposition? If it’s all or nothing, I’m not sure I’m up for it, but if there’s a bit of leeway, I could limit myself. Something to think about, though eating right is cost prohibitive these days. We shall see if I do, indeed, turn to the ‘green’ side..stay tuned, bat fans....
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13
Wednesday, 08-13-08
I awoke a couple of times with back/neck/belly pain and took my meds but by morning, I was able to work out the kinks and get comfortable. Jeff showers and gets ready for his fun day of doctor and dental appointments, his first starting at 11am with his orthopedic shoulder doc and the other being a teeth cleaning at 2pm. The 11am appointment wasn’t over until after 12:30, so he just stayed over on that side of town instead of wasting gas by driving back over here, so I was on my own for most of the day. I checked my email and wrote an update, but the email wouldn’t send out, so I settled in to read and watch TV for a few hours. Lazy day, but I made myself busy getting everything organized for the week in this lovely place. I’m just amazed at how quickly one can get pooped out but take breaks whenever I break out in a sweat and feel weak. I made a grocery list, started a load of laundry and waited for Jeff to get back.
When Jeff got back, we headed to Kroger to do the real shopping. Don’t do this if you’re just out of the hospital. I was so stir crazy that I went with him, though, and ended up feeling that I’d run a marathon by the time we were done. Just exhausting. We got home, put the groceries away and ate what was left over of the bean dip from CVS. Well, I did. (It wasn’t much, I swear.) We watched TV and read for a bit and then head over to Selia’s next door to order up din-din with the group.
What an awesome gathering. It was only dinner, but it felt like so much more. Even though I’ve been around these guys on many occasions, this time felt really special, for some reason. I felt a great connection with everyone there and then, the strange coincidences began. Here were the folks in attendance:
Selia Qynn (musician) and her hubby, Kent.
Ken Gaines (musician) and his wifey, Sue.
April Kelly (musician) and my hubby, Jeff.
Saylor White (musician) and his sig. other, Sheryl Hutchins.
(You MUST Google each of these musicians – They are some of the best in Houston and are remarkable peeps…Give ‘em a listen.)
Ken told a story about surprising Saylor for his birthday last week and I wondered which day, but didn’t ask just yet. When Saylor arrived, we found out, over Chinese dumplings & spring rolls, that Saylor and Jeff share the same birthday, August 6th. Both guys were blown away ‘cause neither has ever known another Leo with the same birthdate and they’ve known one another for so long without knowing about the birthday link. Then, lo and behold, we found out, over the main course, that Kent and Sheryl share the same birthdate, too, August 31st. Nuh-UH…What are the freakin’ odds, right? Sue’s birthday is the same as my little sister’s. I now know everyone’s birthdays and won’t be forgetting that anytime soon!
After some great conversation, we had the fruit torte that Selia had left for Jeff for dessert and everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to him, finally! A great night, but I got pooped early and so began the sweats and chills….time to go. It’s just as well ‘cause Selia has a mission of mercy in the morning and needs her sleep. We bid them adieu and go back next door, feeling fine about our remarkable friends. A little TV, a little reading, a little pain medication, bedtime it is. G’night.
I awoke a couple of times with back/neck/belly pain and took my meds but by morning, I was able to work out the kinks and get comfortable. Jeff showers and gets ready for his fun day of doctor and dental appointments, his first starting at 11am with his orthopedic shoulder doc and the other being a teeth cleaning at 2pm. The 11am appointment wasn’t over until after 12:30, so he just stayed over on that side of town instead of wasting gas by driving back over here, so I was on my own for most of the day. I checked my email and wrote an update, but the email wouldn’t send out, so I settled in to read and watch TV for a few hours. Lazy day, but I made myself busy getting everything organized for the week in this lovely place. I’m just amazed at how quickly one can get pooped out but take breaks whenever I break out in a sweat and feel weak. I made a grocery list, started a load of laundry and waited for Jeff to get back.
When Jeff got back, we headed to Kroger to do the real shopping. Don’t do this if you’re just out of the hospital. I was so stir crazy that I went with him, though, and ended up feeling that I’d run a marathon by the time we were done. Just exhausting. We got home, put the groceries away and ate what was left over of the bean dip from CVS. Well, I did. (It wasn’t much, I swear.) We watched TV and read for a bit and then head over to Selia’s next door to order up din-din with the group.
What an awesome gathering. It was only dinner, but it felt like so much more. Even though I’ve been around these guys on many occasions, this time felt really special, for some reason. I felt a great connection with everyone there and then, the strange coincidences began. Here were the folks in attendance:
Selia Qynn (musician) and her hubby, Kent.
Ken Gaines (musician) and his wifey, Sue.
April Kelly (musician) and my hubby, Jeff.
Saylor White (musician) and his sig. other, Sheryl Hutchins.
(You MUST Google each of these musicians – They are some of the best in Houston and are remarkable peeps…Give ‘em a listen.)
Ken told a story about surprising Saylor for his birthday last week and I wondered which day, but didn’t ask just yet. When Saylor arrived, we found out, over Chinese dumplings & spring rolls, that Saylor and Jeff share the same birthday, August 6th. Both guys were blown away ‘cause neither has ever known another Leo with the same birthdate and they’ve known one another for so long without knowing about the birthday link. Then, lo and behold, we found out, over the main course, that Kent and Sheryl share the same birthdate, too, August 31st. Nuh-UH…What are the freakin’ odds, right? Sue’s birthday is the same as my little sister’s. I now know everyone’s birthdays and won’t be forgetting that anytime soon!
After some great conversation, we had the fruit torte that Selia had left for Jeff for dessert and everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to him, finally! A great night, but I got pooped early and so began the sweats and chills….time to go. It’s just as well ‘cause Selia has a mission of mercy in the morning and needs her sleep. We bid them adieu and go back next door, feeling fine about our remarkable friends. A little TV, a little reading, a little pain medication, bedtime it is. G’night.
Tuesday, August 12
Tuesday, 8-12-08
We get stuff packed up and wait around for the Doc to come in to give the final Okay to leave. I’d thought that we’d need to be out of the room by 11am but the nurses say not to worry, that we can stay as long as we need to. Okay, good ‘nuf, I’ll order breakfast. I order, eat several bites and hand the rest over to Jeff. Lunch rolls ‘round with no sign of the Doc so Jeff goes to run an errand and returns by 2pm, when the doc arrives. She tells me that I can stay in the hospital if I want overnight if I have any concerns, but I’m ready to go, chills and all. She also tells me that she’d like for me to go see an oncologist at MD Anderson, Dr. Yao, and sets it up for them to call me to set up an appointment. I still have my oncologist in Cedar Park but want that second opinion from the experts at MD A. I fill out 5 “Stars of G5!” forms, which gives accolades and thanks to those nurses, aides, etc., who’ve been exceptional in my ward, we pack up and send for the big old wheelchair limo, which will hold everything that we have and then some. My chauffer is the sparking Shirley again! Great, grand and we’re on our way to Selia’s, finally!!!! =)
Selia’s Habitat Guest House is like a very nice B&B setup, with complete kitchen, 1 bed, 1 bath, little dinette area and living room. Warm and inviting, it just screams of it’s host, Ms. Selia Qynn. I get tears in my eyes when I spot what she’s left on the table in the dinette area. There is a gorgeous, cheerful bouquet of flowers with a giant butterfly balloon attached to it sitting there, right next to a Happy Birthday fruit torte for Jeff that has candles on it that state, “25?” Two cards await us each and I’m just blown away. Wow, what a welcome. Selia is Snow White, I swear. More on this later….gotta see her website. Amazing lady, amazing place. www.selia.com
We drop our stuff off and go to CVS to get prescriptions filled and pick up a few grocery provisions while we’re there. We’re both pooped out and cranky, but grateful to get to a bit of normality for once. We were going to get together with some friends this evening, but thankfully, they cancel and we make plans to order up some Chinese and have dinner together on Wednesday night. Jeff and I get settled in, watch some TV, read a little and then crash HARD at about 10pm. Jeff is sleeping on the sofa because of his left shoulder problems. The queen sized bed is not going to cut it when he has to sleep in a specific way, you know? We logged in about 10 hours of sleep, both of us, thank goodness. Ahhhhhhhh!! What a total RELIEF that is!
We get stuff packed up and wait around for the Doc to come in to give the final Okay to leave. I’d thought that we’d need to be out of the room by 11am but the nurses say not to worry, that we can stay as long as we need to. Okay, good ‘nuf, I’ll order breakfast. I order, eat several bites and hand the rest over to Jeff. Lunch rolls ‘round with no sign of the Doc so Jeff goes to run an errand and returns by 2pm, when the doc arrives. She tells me that I can stay in the hospital if I want overnight if I have any concerns, but I’m ready to go, chills and all. She also tells me that she’d like for me to go see an oncologist at MD Anderson, Dr. Yao, and sets it up for them to call me to set up an appointment. I still have my oncologist in Cedar Park but want that second opinion from the experts at MD A. I fill out 5 “Stars of G5!” forms, which gives accolades and thanks to those nurses, aides, etc., who’ve been exceptional in my ward, we pack up and send for the big old wheelchair limo, which will hold everything that we have and then some. My chauffer is the sparking Shirley again! Great, grand and we’re on our way to Selia’s, finally!!!! =)
Selia’s Habitat Guest House is like a very nice B&B setup, with complete kitchen, 1 bed, 1 bath, little dinette area and living room. Warm and inviting, it just screams of it’s host, Ms. Selia Qynn. I get tears in my eyes when I spot what she’s left on the table in the dinette area. There is a gorgeous, cheerful bouquet of flowers with a giant butterfly balloon attached to it sitting there, right next to a Happy Birthday fruit torte for Jeff that has candles on it that state, “25?” Two cards await us each and I’m just blown away. Wow, what a welcome. Selia is Snow White, I swear. More on this later….gotta see her website. Amazing lady, amazing place. www.selia.com
We drop our stuff off and go to CVS to get prescriptions filled and pick up a few grocery provisions while we’re there. We’re both pooped out and cranky, but grateful to get to a bit of normality for once. We were going to get together with some friends this evening, but thankfully, they cancel and we make plans to order up some Chinese and have dinner together on Wednesday night. Jeff and I get settled in, watch some TV, read a little and then crash HARD at about 10pm. Jeff is sleeping on the sofa because of his left shoulder problems. The queen sized bed is not going to cut it when he has to sleep in a specific way, you know? We logged in about 10 hours of sleep, both of us, thank goodness. Ahhhhhhhh!! What a total RELIEF that is!
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