The third treatment (which is technically the third and final portion of ONE treatment) is in the books, and I am still not seeing any hair loss anywhere!
I BOUGHT MASCARA! Wheee!
You have no idea what a big deal that is, unless you are a woman who has experienced complete body alopecia, and who is now seeing hair regrowth and retention in the midst of more chemotherapy!
I have been doing just fine, over all.
The rock hard constipation resolves by about Wednesday.
The expensive prescription mouth rinse works wonders on my mouth sores, and they are gone for the moment.
My sense of taste is impacted for a few days, but not badly at all, compared to how it has been previously.
I am sure that will change as we go along, due to the cumulative effects of this therapy.
I also find comfort in experience. When I had my break from treatment during the holidays, it only took about 10 days after my last treatment for my sense of taste to be restored.
My reaction to the steroids gets worse every week, too. Yesterday, I had a couple of really intense bouts of rage, compounded by chemo brain in which I can't think of words.
It's VERY difficult and scary.
I also have bad insomnia the first night, and get redder on day two every time, with my face feeling hot and flushed all day.
But really? Compared to the horror stories of so many cancer treatment survivors? I am doing FINE.
I work full time, I keep my house, I exercise, and I mostly feel okay.
I am glad that my by week is here, and that I don't have to go back until Feb. 12. Ahhhh......
It has been freakishly warm here for a couple of days. 76 yesterday. We had lots of stuff to do out of the house, though, so yesterday went by WAY too quickly.
Today should be a bit more leisurely.
Yesterday's highlight was being able to go and see one of the remaining copies of Shakespeare's first folio.
For some reason, it began its nation wide tour in Norman, OK at the museum of natural history. Yes, the dinosaur museum.
An odd place, but whatever! It was just there, in a case, with some posters around it, opened to Hamlet.
It was a treat to see it, and it made my eyes tear up.
Then we went to lunch, then visited Dave's dad, then came home. But that all took several hours, and we didn't get home until 4 pm.
We opened windows and aired out the house, while I cleaned and Dave went back out to drop off some donations.
By the time we got things done around the house that are normal for Saturday, and I finally got around to making dinner, it was already 8 pm when we were finally sitting down to eat.
But that's okay on our treasured weekends. We even got in the hot tub last night, and watched a goofy movie on Svengoolie before crashing around 11.
Laundry and a bit more cleaning and tidying today, then, there will be coloring and a movie to watch. Oh, and I need to rebuild Dave's tree of life necklace. The wire is about to blow, so all I have to do is re-string it. Maybe clean it up a little.
Happy Sunday to all!
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Suddenly spring....
Last night was one of the Pagan spring festivals, and today, it's going to be 60 degrees in central Oklahoma.
Of course, that's actually because I finally bought a decent winter coat on Friday. HAHA!
Treatment session #2 is in the history books.
This past week, I experienced increased mouth discomfort to the point of getting the sores on my tongue again like before. Prescription oral rinse obtained, and 36 hours later, the sores are gone.
That stuff works really well. Thank goodness, because those fuckers HURT.
Unfortunately, our insurance forced us to change pharmacies, and what used to cost me $7.50 now costs $55.00.
Brilliant.
Anyway, speaking of insurance, we had quite the roller coaster ride this past week regarding my coverage and whether or not I would be allowed to continue to receive chemotherapy treatments on schedule.
I was off last Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday.
Around 4 that afternoon, my cell phone rang, and it was the clinic.
I hoped they were calling to say that I was able to get a doctor appointment on the same day as my treatment in 3 weeks, instead of having to go twice in one week.
No such luck.
It was the insurance coordinator, calling to say that my insurance was now requiring pre-authorization for chemotherapy treatments, and that I might need to stop coming until the insurance authorized the service.
It seemed very strange to me that I had already received a treatment, and this was not an issue, and now was approaching my second treatment, and suddenly it was a issue.
How could the clinic have NOT KNOWN about this new requirement?
Insurance companies are required by law to notify their participating providers of rule and policy changes well in advance of said changes effective dates.
She had said that this change was effective January 1.
I said "Okay, so I scheduled these appointments on December 2, so I don't quite understand the problem."
She was not very good at answering my question, so I just let it go, without telling her that I have been on the business side of this process for about 16 years, doing medical billing, and several of those years fighting denials on behalf of medical providers. I know about denials for authorization!
I comforted myself in the knowledge that if the auth did not come through, I could still get my treatment, and the insurance would charge it to provider (my clinic) responsibility, and not patient (me) responsibility. The clinic would then fight the denial and get it reversed.
Because that's how it always was when I was working on behalf of medical providers!
As of Wednesday, still no authorization.
It was after 4:30 pm Thursday before I heard from her again, and she said there still wasn't an authorization.
I asked a few more questions, this time, such as "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"
I told her that I know that the insurance had to notify their providers in advance, and she said "they didn't allow us to start requesting authorizations until Jan. 1, so we're behind."
Okay, finally an honest answer. YOU'RE behind. I get that.
But really? They didn't ALLOW requests that they required until after a certain date? That seems awfully odd to me. In fact, that seemed highly unlikely, given the standard 15 day turn around it takes for a typical authorization.
The insurance knows that patients are scheduled for treatments in January, so they would allow auth requests in advance.
Then I said "well, if I come for my treatment anyway, lack of auth is the provider's responsibility, and you can appeal, and request a retro auth."
She seemed a bit confused for a moment.....since I was saying stuff she didn't expect me to know about.
But then she said "They don't do those, and no, it would be your responsibility."
"Why would it be patient responsibility if it's your job to get the service authorized?"
"Because you would know that the service wasn't authorized."
Really? Seriously?
I questioned my medical billing friends via Facebook, and they ALL agreed, auth is the provider's responsibility, and the insurance CAN'T bill me for lack of auth.
SO, I got off of the phone with her, with the assurance that I would hear from her by 10:30 am on treatment day with an answer.
Then I had Dave call the insurance company and ask the provider vs patient responsibility question.
Apparently, OUR insurance WILL BILL THE PATIENT for the provider's lack of follow through.
So that meant that if I DID go anyway, I would be billed $5k for an hour and a half in the infusion room.
Charming. SO, it was down to no auth? No treatment...and a possible wait time of as long as three weeks before I could start up again.
This did not sit well with me, but what the fuck was I supposed to do about it?
Anyway, the stress from all of this was really getting to me, so Dave took the process over on Friday morning.
He called my nurse, who had NO idea that any of her patients were going through this kind of stress, being told by the business office that they would have to stop treatment because the business office was behind in their work.
She intervened with the business office, and said we would hear something as soon as possible.
Friday 10:30 came and went. No promised call.
12:00 came, time for me to either punch out for the DAY, and go for treatment, or punch out for LUNCH, and come back at 1 to work the afternoon -- because I would not be allowed to continue my treatments.
I punched out for lunch, and one minute later, the chick in the business office FINALLY called and said "SHE" got the authorization for me.
I was so relieved that I just said thanks and hung up. My suspicion is that the nurse lit a fire under her.
I emailed my supervisor and asked her to change my punch out for lunch to punch out for the day, and bid my co workers a good weekend.
PHEW!
What a freaking pain in the ass that all was. All because someone in the clinic wasn't doing her job.
While I was getting hooked up for my treatment, Dave went to the business office and had a little chat with Miss Jessica.
He confirmed that we won't have to go through this every freaking week now. ALL of the treatments in this weekly protocol have now been authorized, which they SHOULD have been before we started treatment on January 15th.
UGH!
Anyway, it's been a good weekend so far, mostly.
I don't sleep the night of treatment, it must be the steroid. And I get horribly constipated. But that all resolves as the weekend goes by. Well, the insomnia, at least.
We are going to use this spring like day to drain and refill the hot tub. It's overdue and really needed to be done.
Enjoy your Sunday, gentle readers!
Of course, that's actually because I finally bought a decent winter coat on Friday. HAHA!
Treatment session #2 is in the history books.
This past week, I experienced increased mouth discomfort to the point of getting the sores on my tongue again like before. Prescription oral rinse obtained, and 36 hours later, the sores are gone.
That stuff works really well. Thank goodness, because those fuckers HURT.
Unfortunately, our insurance forced us to change pharmacies, and what used to cost me $7.50 now costs $55.00.
Brilliant.
Anyway, speaking of insurance, we had quite the roller coaster ride this past week regarding my coverage and whether or not I would be allowed to continue to receive chemotherapy treatments on schedule.
I was off last Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday.
Around 4 that afternoon, my cell phone rang, and it was the clinic.
I hoped they were calling to say that I was able to get a doctor appointment on the same day as my treatment in 3 weeks, instead of having to go twice in one week.
No such luck.
It was the insurance coordinator, calling to say that my insurance was now requiring pre-authorization for chemotherapy treatments, and that I might need to stop coming until the insurance authorized the service.
It seemed very strange to me that I had already received a treatment, and this was not an issue, and now was approaching my second treatment, and suddenly it was a issue.
How could the clinic have NOT KNOWN about this new requirement?
Insurance companies are required by law to notify their participating providers of rule and policy changes well in advance of said changes effective dates.
She had said that this change was effective January 1.
I said "Okay, so I scheduled these appointments on December 2, so I don't quite understand the problem."
She was not very good at answering my question, so I just let it go, without telling her that I have been on the business side of this process for about 16 years, doing medical billing, and several of those years fighting denials on behalf of medical providers. I know about denials for authorization!
I comforted myself in the knowledge that if the auth did not come through, I could still get my treatment, and the insurance would charge it to provider (my clinic) responsibility, and not patient (me) responsibility. The clinic would then fight the denial and get it reversed.
Because that's how it always was when I was working on behalf of medical providers!
As of Wednesday, still no authorization.
It was after 4:30 pm Thursday before I heard from her again, and she said there still wasn't an authorization.
I asked a few more questions, this time, such as "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"
I told her that I know that the insurance had to notify their providers in advance, and she said "they didn't allow us to start requesting authorizations until Jan. 1, so we're behind."
Okay, finally an honest answer. YOU'RE behind. I get that.
But really? They didn't ALLOW requests that they required until after a certain date? That seems awfully odd to me. In fact, that seemed highly unlikely, given the standard 15 day turn around it takes for a typical authorization.
The insurance knows that patients are scheduled for treatments in January, so they would allow auth requests in advance.
Then I said "well, if I come for my treatment anyway, lack of auth is the provider's responsibility, and you can appeal, and request a retro auth."
She seemed a bit confused for a moment.....since I was saying stuff she didn't expect me to know about.
But then she said "They don't do those, and no, it would be your responsibility."
"Why would it be patient responsibility if it's your job to get the service authorized?"
"Because you would know that the service wasn't authorized."
Really? Seriously?
I questioned my medical billing friends via Facebook, and they ALL agreed, auth is the provider's responsibility, and the insurance CAN'T bill me for lack of auth.
SO, I got off of the phone with her, with the assurance that I would hear from her by 10:30 am on treatment day with an answer.
Then I had Dave call the insurance company and ask the provider vs patient responsibility question.
Apparently, OUR insurance WILL BILL THE PATIENT for the provider's lack of follow through.
So that meant that if I DID go anyway, I would be billed $5k for an hour and a half in the infusion room.
Charming. SO, it was down to no auth? No treatment...and a possible wait time of as long as three weeks before I could start up again.
This did not sit well with me, but what the fuck was I supposed to do about it?
Anyway, the stress from all of this was really getting to me, so Dave took the process over on Friday morning.
He called my nurse, who had NO idea that any of her patients were going through this kind of stress, being told by the business office that they would have to stop treatment because the business office was behind in their work.
She intervened with the business office, and said we would hear something as soon as possible.
Friday 10:30 came and went. No promised call.
12:00 came, time for me to either punch out for the DAY, and go for treatment, or punch out for LUNCH, and come back at 1 to work the afternoon -- because I would not be allowed to continue my treatments.
I punched out for lunch, and one minute later, the chick in the business office FINALLY called and said "SHE" got the authorization for me.
I was so relieved that I just said thanks and hung up. My suspicion is that the nurse lit a fire under her.
I emailed my supervisor and asked her to change my punch out for lunch to punch out for the day, and bid my co workers a good weekend.
PHEW!
What a freaking pain in the ass that all was. All because someone in the clinic wasn't doing her job.
While I was getting hooked up for my treatment, Dave went to the business office and had a little chat with Miss Jessica.
He confirmed that we won't have to go through this every freaking week now. ALL of the treatments in this weekly protocol have now been authorized, which they SHOULD have been before we started treatment on January 15th.
UGH!
Anyway, it's been a good weekend so far, mostly.
I don't sleep the night of treatment, it must be the steroid. And I get horribly constipated. But that all resolves as the weekend goes by. Well, the insomnia, at least.
We are going to use this spring like day to drain and refill the hot tub. It's overdue and really needed to be done.
Enjoy your Sunday, gentle readers!
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Back in the saddle
New chemotherapy started on Friday.
All went well, and the girl at the front desk didn't seem to know what she was doing, so I did not have to pay $1005.00 when I walked in the door, as I was anticipating!
We'll see what happens if the regular front desk person is back this next week!
Be that as it may, I have a fund raiser going to get the money together to pay for the deductible and out of pocket that will come due RIGHT AWAY this year.
We need our tax refund to get stuff done on the house that we had to put off last year. We also need to be able to keep paying our normal bills, and to keep buying food.
It is no surprise at all to me how people end up homeless if they get cancer.
Help is also coming in from family members in the mail.... I can't express how much I really appreciate all of that. THANK YOU just doesn't cut it.
The girls at the dance studio are also doing some fund raising to help out, and there is a party tonight with a $5.00 cover charge with raffles as well. That will be fun, and all of the money goes toward my bills.
Awesome.
I am feeling pretty good so far today. Yesterday was okay, too. Just constipated and all pink and puffy.
Today's cooking projects include getting the meat off of the chicken I roasted yesterday, and making a pot of soup, and preparing a batch of black beans to have available for this week's breakfast bowls.
We got Callie Cat rescued yesterday!
She was just as willing to get into the cat carrier yesterday as she was when we took her to the vet two weeks ago.
We dropped her off at the vet used by the rescue we were put in touch with. They will test her for FIV and Feline Leukemia, and the rescue will pick her up, take care of her, and try to find her a home!
She is such a sweetie, but we could not justify the additional vet bills, nor could we be sure she would fit in with our cats.
She is in a much better place than under our shed!
Okay, off to start my day. Happy Sunday!
All went well, and the girl at the front desk didn't seem to know what she was doing, so I did not have to pay $1005.00 when I walked in the door, as I was anticipating!
We'll see what happens if the regular front desk person is back this next week!
Be that as it may, I have a fund raiser going to get the money together to pay for the deductible and out of pocket that will come due RIGHT AWAY this year.
We need our tax refund to get stuff done on the house that we had to put off last year. We also need to be able to keep paying our normal bills, and to keep buying food.
It is no surprise at all to me how people end up homeless if they get cancer.
Help is also coming in from family members in the mail.... I can't express how much I really appreciate all of that. THANK YOU just doesn't cut it.
The girls at the dance studio are also doing some fund raising to help out, and there is a party tonight with a $5.00 cover charge with raffles as well. That will be fun, and all of the money goes toward my bills.
Awesome.
I am feeling pretty good so far today. Yesterday was okay, too. Just constipated and all pink and puffy.
Today's cooking projects include getting the meat off of the chicken I roasted yesterday, and making a pot of soup, and preparing a batch of black beans to have available for this week's breakfast bowls.
We got Callie Cat rescued yesterday!
She was just as willing to get into the cat carrier yesterday as she was when we took her to the vet two weeks ago.
We dropped her off at the vet used by the rescue we were put in touch with. They will test her for FIV and Feline Leukemia, and the rescue will pick her up, take care of her, and try to find her a home!
She is such a sweetie, but we could not justify the additional vet bills, nor could we be sure she would fit in with our cats.
She is in a much better place than under our shed!
Okay, off to start my day. Happy Sunday!
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Cold season
I am really grateful that Dave got a cold, and that he shared it with me, so that I could get over it before chemo resumes next Friday.
I had to call in sick one day at work, which SUCKS because I need all of my hours to get paid for being off for chemo, and there's a new policy in place regarding people donating hours at work.
I can't be assured anymore that I will GET the hours I need when I use up all that I have.
But oh well. I had no choice.
If I had not stayed home to get well, I could have gotten a sinus infection, or just gotten sicker, and that may have delayed the start of chemo.
The last thing I want is to have to extend chemo out at the end again. THAT sucked. Big time.
Feeling better now, though, and enjoying a nice weekend at home.
We got all of our errands done Friday night before the weather got nasty, and have been able to stay in and take it easy all weekend.
We got a little bit of snow yesterday. Much less than the weather forecasting frenzy had predicted. It was really windy, though, and just not a nice day. I am glad we just stayed in.
Then, last night, it got down into the teens outside, and today is sunny but frigid.
Our back yard cat, Callie, is doing okay, though. I wish someone would step up and adopt her, poor thing.
She's doing SO much better since we got her to the vet, though. Her injury on her tail is completely cleared up, and her coat is thickening up, she's gaining weight, and is a lot more likely to come out and sit in the open to groom.
Oh, I didn't tell you about Callie?
She is a pretty calico who came into our yard, some how, some way, and took up residence under our shed.
Someone had to tell her to come to us, I think.
When she first appeared, she was emaciated and weak. Clearly not a cat who was suited to life on the street.
We started feeding her, and gradually building her trust. She let me pet her, and then Dave, and soon, she was coming out from under the shed just to be with us.
She had a wound on her tail, and was dirty, and sickly, but as we fed her, she grew stronger and visibly happier.
The Saturday after New Year's Day, we took her to our vet to see if she had a microchip, and to have them look at her tail.
She was COMPLETELY docile about being picked up and put into our carrier, and she was such a good girl at the vet.
She did have a chip, but it was not registered, and we have been unable to find her people. The city pound were the ones who chipped her, and they have no records either.
The vet gave her a flea treatment, and an antibiotic injection, and they cleaned up her wound.
Within a week, the wound was healed, her white fur was white again, and she has become SO much more social.
We have posted her picture, asked for help from animal rescue experts, and spread the word, but no one seems to want her.
We can't afford to get her fully vetted, with my chemo coming up, and we can't take the chance of bringing another adult female cat into the house if she comes out "clean" (free of communicable street cat type diseases). It would probably be utter mayhem between her and Annabel.
In other news, I set up a fund raiser for myself, since no one took the initiative this year, as our part of my treatments will potentially be much bigger this year as we pay out my deductible and out of pocket.
Plus, instead of having to go every three weeks, I have to go every week. That means that the bills will hit a lot harder and sooner than last year.
It was awkward to ask, but I am feeling more comfortable with it now.
Still waiting for the financial person at the cancer center to CALL and tell us what to expect. When I last spoke to someone over there, I was assured that the call would come soon, but, here we are....tomorrow is Monday, treatment is Friday, and we still don't know how much we will have to pay for me to walk in the door.
Be that as it may, though, we won't have to worry about it wiping out the bank account right up front. Thanks to the generous help of friends, we will be able to keep up with the weekly charges for a little while, at least.
By the time the fund raiser runs out, we might have our tax refund like last year, and if we don't, they'll probably let me carry a balance and make installments.
Also, the dance studio is holding a dance party with a $5 cover charge to help me out, too. I think that's pretty wonderful.
Can't wait til I can go back to class, but have decided to put it off until after chemo is over for good. HOPING that day comes in March.
Have a lovely Sunday!
I had to call in sick one day at work, which SUCKS because I need all of my hours to get paid for being off for chemo, and there's a new policy in place regarding people donating hours at work.
I can't be assured anymore that I will GET the hours I need when I use up all that I have.
But oh well. I had no choice.
If I had not stayed home to get well, I could have gotten a sinus infection, or just gotten sicker, and that may have delayed the start of chemo.
The last thing I want is to have to extend chemo out at the end again. THAT sucked. Big time.
Feeling better now, though, and enjoying a nice weekend at home.
We got all of our errands done Friday night before the weather got nasty, and have been able to stay in and take it easy all weekend.
We got a little bit of snow yesterday. Much less than the weather forecasting frenzy had predicted. It was really windy, though, and just not a nice day. I am glad we just stayed in.
Then, last night, it got down into the teens outside, and today is sunny but frigid.
Our back yard cat, Callie, is doing okay, though. I wish someone would step up and adopt her, poor thing.
She's doing SO much better since we got her to the vet, though. Her injury on her tail is completely cleared up, and her coat is thickening up, she's gaining weight, and is a lot more likely to come out and sit in the open to groom.
Oh, I didn't tell you about Callie?
She is a pretty calico who came into our yard, some how, some way, and took up residence under our shed.
Someone had to tell her to come to us, I think.
When she first appeared, she was emaciated and weak. Clearly not a cat who was suited to life on the street.
We started feeding her, and gradually building her trust. She let me pet her, and then Dave, and soon, she was coming out from under the shed just to be with us.
She had a wound on her tail, and was dirty, and sickly, but as we fed her, she grew stronger and visibly happier.
The Saturday after New Year's Day, we took her to our vet to see if she had a microchip, and to have them look at her tail.
She was COMPLETELY docile about being picked up and put into our carrier, and she was such a good girl at the vet.
She did have a chip, but it was not registered, and we have been unable to find her people. The city pound were the ones who chipped her, and they have no records either.
The vet gave her a flea treatment, and an antibiotic injection, and they cleaned up her wound.
Within a week, the wound was healed, her white fur was white again, and she has become SO much more social.
We have posted her picture, asked for help from animal rescue experts, and spread the word, but no one seems to want her.
We can't afford to get her fully vetted, with my chemo coming up, and we can't take the chance of bringing another adult female cat into the house if she comes out "clean" (free of communicable street cat type diseases). It would probably be utter mayhem between her and Annabel.
In other news, I set up a fund raiser for myself, since no one took the initiative this year, as our part of my treatments will potentially be much bigger this year as we pay out my deductible and out of pocket.
Plus, instead of having to go every three weeks, I have to go every week. That means that the bills will hit a lot harder and sooner than last year.
It was awkward to ask, but I am feeling more comfortable with it now.
Still waiting for the financial person at the cancer center to CALL and tell us what to expect. When I last spoke to someone over there, I was assured that the call would come soon, but, here we are....tomorrow is Monday, treatment is Friday, and we still don't know how much we will have to pay for me to walk in the door.
Be that as it may, though, we won't have to worry about it wiping out the bank account right up front. Thanks to the generous help of friends, we will be able to keep up with the weekly charges for a little while, at least.
By the time the fund raiser runs out, we might have our tax refund like last year, and if we don't, they'll probably let me carry a balance and make installments.
Also, the dance studio is holding a dance party with a $5 cover charge to help me out, too. I think that's pretty wonderful.
Can't wait til I can go back to class, but have decided to put it off until after chemo is over for good. HOPING that day comes in March.
Have a lovely Sunday!
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Endings and beginnings
Happy New Year!
Well, crap.
Today is the last day of the holidays.
I don't like seeing them end this year, they've been so pleasant, and the time off from work has been exquisite (7 and a half days, all together, over the course of 2 weeks).
But tomorrow is Monday. Just a boring old Monday, with nothing special to look forward to for weeks to come.
This happened yesterday, though:
This was part of my Yule gift from Dave. Actually, since we share our bank account, it was my gift from me, too....
I have wanted a red winged black bird tattoo for a very long time, and the woman who is my sister in this desire, one of my best friends, is going to get one just like it as soon as she has her tax refund in the spring.
We had wanted to get them done at the same time, together, but first, she moved away from Illinois to Michigan, and then, a few years after that, I moved away from Illinois to Oklahoma.
She found the basis for the image on line, and I loved it. She has pictures of mine and will get an exact copy in the same place (inner left forearm).
I like that it's simple and stylized.
In other news, my eyebrows are getting thicker, so that I can see them a little, and the fringe of eyelashes is also thickening. I really hope they don't all fall out again.
Today will be about staying home (for me. Dave is doing a few errands) and cooking, cleaning, and squeezing the last bit of down time out of the long weekend that I can.
After he gets home, we will finish a pretty thorough house cleaning, and then we will do a pretty intense house blessing, to remove all of the "residue" from the last year of stress, fear, anxiety, and just overall bad juju.
Clean that out of the house, and invite in the peace and sanctuary that is supposed to be IN our home.
Hoping you, gentle reader, have a good day, too.
Well, crap.
Today is the last day of the holidays.
I don't like seeing them end this year, they've been so pleasant, and the time off from work has been exquisite (7 and a half days, all together, over the course of 2 weeks).
But tomorrow is Monday. Just a boring old Monday, with nothing special to look forward to for weeks to come.
This happened yesterday, though:
This was part of my Yule gift from Dave. Actually, since we share our bank account, it was my gift from me, too....
I have wanted a red winged black bird tattoo for a very long time, and the woman who is my sister in this desire, one of my best friends, is going to get one just like it as soon as she has her tax refund in the spring.
We had wanted to get them done at the same time, together, but first, she moved away from Illinois to Michigan, and then, a few years after that, I moved away from Illinois to Oklahoma.
She found the basis for the image on line, and I loved it. She has pictures of mine and will get an exact copy in the same place (inner left forearm).
I like that it's simple and stylized.
In other news, my eyebrows are getting thicker, so that I can see them a little, and the fringe of eyelashes is also thickening. I really hope they don't all fall out again.
Today will be about staying home (for me. Dave is doing a few errands) and cooking, cleaning, and squeezing the last bit of down time out of the long weekend that I can.
After he gets home, we will finish a pretty thorough house cleaning, and then we will do a pretty intense house blessing, to remove all of the "residue" from the last year of stress, fear, anxiety, and just overall bad juju.
Clean that out of the house, and invite in the peace and sanctuary that is supposed to be IN our home.
Hoping you, gentle reader, have a good day, too.
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