I am still just so grateful that we finally have a Trader Joe's in OKC!
While we avoid eating a lot of grain-based foods (hardly ever do we eat bread or pasta), one of my favorite things in the winter months is a nice bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with dried fruit, nuts, real maple syrup, and cinnamon.
TJ's makes a quick cook (8 minutes) version of it, and this is one of the things my sister used to send to me at Christmas.
It's just so nice to be able to go buy more when I run out!
Not much going on this weekend at our house. Dave took care of his dad yesterday (no groceries needed this week, but instead, he took Pop for a shave and a hair cut for the first time in months).
I did laundry and basic house keeping yesterday, as well as some cooking.
Today, we hope to get out and do a little thrift store shopping. We need some juice glasses, thanks to the CAT-astrophe of a couple of weeks back when one of the cats jumped up on the counter, and pulled the drying pad, and ALL of the glassware that was drying on it, to the floor.
We lost the coffee carafe, vintage wine glasses, antique shot classes, and juice glasses. It was awful.
We've been saving up money to get a new cover for our hot tub. The original one lasted 3 years, and now it needs to be replaced.
Dave learned that the reason for this is that the tub is so small that the bromine gas from the bromine water sterilizer is too strong. The guy at the spa place recommended a different way to administer the bromine, so we will switch to that when the new cover is ready.
That's about it for this week. No protests to go to, no drama at work (that effects me directly, anyway), no other news.
Have a good one, gentle Reader!
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Get up, stand up....
...stand up for your rights....
Yesterday, we attended the Women's March at the Oklahoma state capitol.
There was an estimated 12 to 14 thousand people there. No police (other than to block off the streets), no arrests, no violence. Just peaceful demonstration.
Thousands of voters, of every color, level of "ability," gender expression, sexual orientation, and religion, gathered together to speak out for the preservation of our rights as citizens of this country.
To make our voices heard by the new congress and administration.
Millions across the entire world, mostly women, stood up, in peaceful unity, for democracy. It was very satisfying to be a part of history.
It was a very chilly morning, and it drizzled on us a bit. We completed the opening rally and the march itself. However, at that point, my feet were numb (I need new walking shoes), I was chilled to the bone, and I had to pee, so we headed out.
(they had only predicted 6000 to show up, so the number of port-a-potties was far too small for the crowd, and the lines were hundreds deep after the march)
We missed the post-march rally and the speakers that were scheduled for after the march. Many others left when we did, too.
Of course, that was when the media showed up. Our numbers were far underrepresented by the news reports, so many of us are posting pictures and videos to social media to prove that we DID show up in force.
I marched because I fear for the loss of health care benefits. I will die without insurance, because, without insurance, I can't afford cancer treatment.
There are millions like me for whom the Affordable Care Act was a beacon of hope. Of life.
I marched for all of my loved ones who are being marginalized because of race, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
I marched for all of us who are awake to the various threats to our civil rights that we've been hearing about.
Then, in the afternoon, we took Dave's car out to Mustang so his son's buddy could install new stereo speakers in it.
By the time we got home, it was already 6 pm, and I had planned pot roast for dinner. We didn't eat until 9!
Today, after we go get Dave's car, I will come home and do my cleaning, and Dave will go down and get Pop's groceries.
Today will be much more relaxing!
And, on that note, I am off to get this day started!
Yesterday, we attended the Women's March at the Oklahoma state capitol.
There was an estimated 12 to 14 thousand people there. No police (other than to block off the streets), no arrests, no violence. Just peaceful demonstration.
Thousands of voters, of every color, level of "ability," gender expression, sexual orientation, and religion, gathered together to speak out for the preservation of our rights as citizens of this country.
To make our voices heard by the new congress and administration.
Millions across the entire world, mostly women, stood up, in peaceful unity, for democracy. It was very satisfying to be a part of history.
(they had only predicted 6000 to show up, so the number of port-a-potties was far too small for the crowd, and the lines were hundreds deep after the march)
We missed the post-march rally and the speakers that were scheduled for after the march. Many others left when we did, too.
Of course, that was when the media showed up. Our numbers were far underrepresented by the news reports, so many of us are posting pictures and videos to social media to prove that we DID show up in force.
I marched because I fear for the loss of health care benefits. I will die without insurance, because, without insurance, I can't afford cancer treatment.
There are millions like me for whom the Affordable Care Act was a beacon of hope. Of life.
I marched for all of my loved ones who are being marginalized because of race, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
I marched for all of us who are awake to the various threats to our civil rights that we've been hearing about.
Then, in the afternoon, we took Dave's car out to Mustang so his son's buddy could install new stereo speakers in it.
By the time we got home, it was already 6 pm, and I had planned pot roast for dinner. We didn't eat until 9!
Today, after we go get Dave's car, I will come home and do my cleaning, and Dave will go down and get Pop's groceries.
Today will be much more relaxing!
And, on that note, I am off to get this day started!
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Icemageddon.... not
Fortunately, the frenzy over the big ice storm was mostly for naught.
We got to go to work late and leave early on Friday, and all it did was sprinkle. The grocery stores were all mad houses when we went on Thursday, but we were able to get our errands done.
We did get some ice in our area, but only a little, and not until Saturday morning.
It seems to only be on branches, rooftops, and overhead wires. No power outage in our area, because the accumulation was so nominal.
The roads are just wet, but we didn't know what to expect.
I was supposed to go to Edmond this morning to do a trade with a massage therapist, but, for the second week in a row, we postponed it because of weather.
(this is the pay back session for the massage I got in September.)
Because we were sent home early, and we didn't know if we'd have power over the weekend, I went ahead and did all of the laundry and the vacuuming on Friday evening.
We ordered delivery (since Friday is typically date night, and we didn't want to be caught out in an ice storm), and re-watched some episodes of Game of Thrones.
Then, yesterday, since that stuff was done already, all I had to do was clean the bathroom and do some cooking.
I think I may have achieved a little bit of relaxation yesterday! Relaxing is not my strong suit.
My doctor visit went well on Thursday afternoon.
He agreed to switch back to the hormone blocking pill in conjunction with the chemo pill, so I did not have to get the injections in my butt this time!
The monthly bone medication injections will still go on indefinitely, but they are not NEARLY as unpleasant as that hormone blocker was (one small injection under the skin of the arm compared to two very large injections into the muscles of both hips).
I had experienced a good deal of anxiety prior to this visit, both because I intended to question the doctor about changing my protocol (he might have decided to put me back on weekly IV treatments), and about having to endure those shots again.
Now that it's over, the anxiety is receding again, and, so far, I have not had a cramp since last weekend!
We keep forgetting to ask how long we are going to do this before my next scan. It must be a long term protocol.
This is a three day weekend, with tomorrow being a day off for my office, and Dave having taken one of his floating holidays.
Two years ago, on the Friday before Martin Luther King day, I started chemo for the first time.
Last year, I RE-started chemo on the same day (after a break for the holidays).
This year, I am already doing chemo, so no trauma is related to the weekend in 2017.
I finally got fed up with Dave's son being incommunicado. I contacted him on facebook, and he's doing fine, he's just not in the mood to see his dad right now.
He does go through these phases.
We are glad he is doing well, and we miss him. He apologized for blowing me off at Christmas.
He'll come around when he's ready.
He probably hasn't thought about the fact that his dad has a tendency to be melancholy, like his beloved Granny was.
He probably hasn't thought about the fact that his dad's wife thought her battle with cancer was mostly over, and then they found out that it wasn't.
He probably hasn't thought about how this might have had an impact on his dad's overall attitude.
He probably hasn't thought about the fact that reacting to the political situation in the country is just one way in which his dad can express himself about how he feels overall.
He probably hasn't thought about the fact that punishing his dad for being negative, by withdrawing from his dad, doesn't help his dad get over being negative.
He also doesn't even know, because he has been withdrawn from us, that his dad was fully aware of how far down into melancholy he had gone.
He also doesn't know that his dad has pulled himself up by the bootstraps, and is doing a lot better.
That's okay, though. He'll figure it out some day.
Or he won't. He's a grown man, and there's nothing we can do to influence him.
Okay, we are off to get Pop's groceries, and to go see a movie, since the roads are just wet.
Then, home to do another cooking project or two. We had run out of lunches! Gotta get caught up.
Enjoy your Sunday!
We got to go to work late and leave early on Friday, and all it did was sprinkle. The grocery stores were all mad houses when we went on Thursday, but we were able to get our errands done.
We did get some ice in our area, but only a little, and not until Saturday morning.
It seems to only be on branches, rooftops, and overhead wires. No power outage in our area, because the accumulation was so nominal.
The roads are just wet, but we didn't know what to expect.
I was supposed to go to Edmond this morning to do a trade with a massage therapist, but, for the second week in a row, we postponed it because of weather.
(this is the pay back session for the massage I got in September.)
Because we were sent home early, and we didn't know if we'd have power over the weekend, I went ahead and did all of the laundry and the vacuuming on Friday evening.
We ordered delivery (since Friday is typically date night, and we didn't want to be caught out in an ice storm), and re-watched some episodes of Game of Thrones.
Then, yesterday, since that stuff was done already, all I had to do was clean the bathroom and do some cooking.
I think I may have achieved a little bit of relaxation yesterday! Relaxing is not my strong suit.
My doctor visit went well on Thursday afternoon.
He agreed to switch back to the hormone blocking pill in conjunction with the chemo pill, so I did not have to get the injections in my butt this time!
The monthly bone medication injections will still go on indefinitely, but they are not NEARLY as unpleasant as that hormone blocker was (one small injection under the skin of the arm compared to two very large injections into the muscles of both hips).
I had experienced a good deal of anxiety prior to this visit, both because I intended to question the doctor about changing my protocol (he might have decided to put me back on weekly IV treatments), and about having to endure those shots again.
Now that it's over, the anxiety is receding again, and, so far, I have not had a cramp since last weekend!
We keep forgetting to ask how long we are going to do this before my next scan. It must be a long term protocol.
This is a three day weekend, with tomorrow being a day off for my office, and Dave having taken one of his floating holidays.
Two years ago, on the Friday before Martin Luther King day, I started chemo for the first time.
Last year, I RE-started chemo on the same day (after a break for the holidays).
This year, I am already doing chemo, so no trauma is related to the weekend in 2017.
I finally got fed up with Dave's son being incommunicado. I contacted him on facebook, and he's doing fine, he's just not in the mood to see his dad right now.
He does go through these phases.
We are glad he is doing well, and we miss him. He apologized for blowing me off at Christmas.
He'll come around when he's ready.
He probably hasn't thought about the fact that his dad has a tendency to be melancholy, like his beloved Granny was.
He probably hasn't thought about the fact that his dad's wife thought her battle with cancer was mostly over, and then they found out that it wasn't.
He probably hasn't thought about how this might have had an impact on his dad's overall attitude.
He probably hasn't thought about the fact that reacting to the political situation in the country is just one way in which his dad can express himself about how he feels overall.
He probably hasn't thought about the fact that punishing his dad for being negative, by withdrawing from his dad, doesn't help his dad get over being negative.
He also doesn't even know, because he has been withdrawn from us, that his dad was fully aware of how far down into melancholy he had gone.
He also doesn't know that his dad has pulled himself up by the bootstraps, and is doing a lot better.
That's okay, though. He'll figure it out some day.
Or he won't. He's a grown man, and there's nothing we can do to influence him.
Okay, we are off to get Pop's groceries, and to go see a movie, since the roads are just wet.
Then, home to do another cooking project or two. We had run out of lunches! Gotta get caught up.
Enjoy your Sunday!
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Signs of winter
We had another few days of deep freeze (by OKC standards), and our first substantial snow of the season.
It snowed about 3 inches or so on Thursday night, and, of course, OKC doesn't plow or salt surface streets, only the highways, so it was a mess getting around town on Friday.
At the risk of someone seeing this post and relating it to me, I will just say that this has caused morale at work to be even more damaged than it already was.
It's starting to melt, though, and by this afternoon, the roads should be passable again. It will be back up in the 60s this coming week.
Such a roller coaster.
We needed the moisture, though, and I am glad we got it.
Unfortunately, the forecast is calling for a possible ice storm next Friday. I wonder how we will deal with having no choice but to get to work in that. Yuck.
In other news, this is my week off of the chemo pill. My sense of taste returns to normal pretty quickly, and my digestive system evens out, too. It's nice to feel more normal for a few days a month.
The antibiotics have cured my sinus infection, and I feel a lot better in that regard.
I've started back on pro-biotics to rebuild my internal balance.
I see my doc this coming Thursday, and will ask about the increase in muscle cramping.
The hormone blocker not only has caused serious pain in the tendons of my wrists and thumb (my right wrist is starting to act like the left one did), but I've done some research, and it is also the likely cause of the major up-tick in night time foot and leg cramps.
I really need to sleep and rest, and almost every night, my sleep is interrupted by really bad cramps.
I have done EVERYTHING I know to remedy them, but this is something different than the ones I have gotten my whole life. This is worse.
We'll see what happens. Going back on IV chemo is an option, but I really don't want to go down that road again.
Maybe I can switch from the injections back to the hormone blocking bill. All it did was make it so I couldn't bend my fingers. *sad face*
Anyway...I am off to the kitchen to debone last night's chicken and make some soup. My other cooking project is pork roast.
Dave is off doing his dad's grocery shopping.
Have a good week, gentle Reader!
It snowed about 3 inches or so on Thursday night, and, of course, OKC doesn't plow or salt surface streets, only the highways, so it was a mess getting around town on Friday.
At the risk of someone seeing this post and relating it to me, I will just say that this has caused morale at work to be even more damaged than it already was.
It's starting to melt, though, and by this afternoon, the roads should be passable again. It will be back up in the 60s this coming week.
Such a roller coaster.
We needed the moisture, though, and I am glad we got it.
Unfortunately, the forecast is calling for a possible ice storm next Friday. I wonder how we will deal with having no choice but to get to work in that. Yuck.
In other news, this is my week off of the chemo pill. My sense of taste returns to normal pretty quickly, and my digestive system evens out, too. It's nice to feel more normal for a few days a month.
The antibiotics have cured my sinus infection, and I feel a lot better in that regard.
I've started back on pro-biotics to rebuild my internal balance.
I see my doc this coming Thursday, and will ask about the increase in muscle cramping.
The hormone blocker not only has caused serious pain in the tendons of my wrists and thumb (my right wrist is starting to act like the left one did), but I've done some research, and it is also the likely cause of the major up-tick in night time foot and leg cramps.
I really need to sleep and rest, and almost every night, my sleep is interrupted by really bad cramps.
I have done EVERYTHING I know to remedy them, but this is something different than the ones I have gotten my whole life. This is worse.
We'll see what happens. Going back on IV chemo is an option, but I really don't want to go down that road again.
Maybe I can switch from the injections back to the hormone blocking bill. All it did was make it so I couldn't bend my fingers. *sad face*
Anyway...I am off to the kitchen to debone last night's chicken and make some soup. My other cooking project is pork roast.
Dave is off doing his dad's grocery shopping.
Have a good week, gentle Reader!
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Happy New Year
Well, folks, we made it.
2016 was sure a roller coaster ride for many of us.
For me, there were extreme highs: stable scans and being taken off of chemo for SIX MOTHS; getting to go home to see my family and friends (and not being bald this time); of course, the Chicago Cubs.
There were extreme lows: new cancer activity, and going back into treatment; the surreal and frightening election process; really bad morale at work; heartbreaking multiple celebrity deaths.
Even with that balance of good and bad, I am still glad to have kicked 2016 in the ass on it's way out last night.
I choose to stay positive, and I choose to hope that there are always better things to come.
I ended the year with a sinus infection and having to go on antibiotics. I hate having to take them, but I can't take any chances since I am on chemo.
My months of focusing on pro-biotics and getting my system balanced out are now wasted. I will have to start all over.
Because I was feeling pretty sick on Friday (after a few days of feeling "off," that was the worst day--when I called my nurse), we had to cancel plans to go to our friends' house for an evening of watching a movie and sipping wine. I was feverish and miserable.
Yesterday, Dave forbade me to go out for any reason, and I agreed.
So, while he went and got his car serviced, and did an errand or two, I made some spaghetti and meatballs to freeze for Dave's dad. I did the laundry, and then when he came home, Dave and I tag teamed the traditional cleaning of the fridge.
Mostly, I rested and let the antibiotics do their work.
By evening, I was feeling a lot better.
We had gotten some hot hors d'ouevres to fix, and nibbled on chips and dip last night.... No real dinner, just grazing, and it was a big treat, and our last hurrah before cleaning up the diet again after the holidays.
The weather was good for hot tubbing, so after watching 3 episodes of Game of Thrones, while we grazed on our yummies, we enjoyed the tub for an hour.
Then, the feature of our evening was watching "Harvey" with James Stewart (which was my tradition, now it's our tradition!), and making it to midnight to crack open a split of champagne and listen to fireworks (and firearms) going off all around us.
We turned on broadcast tv for the count down, and found that Saturday Night Live was replaying the show from the night that the Cubs players and Bill Murray were on, so we watched that until 1, and then went to bed.
All in all, there a lot of sitting in front of the tv yesterday and last night!
This morning, I am feeling queasy and "off" in a different way. It's probably the antibiotics, and the sinus drainage going down my throat.
The nausea was so bad when I got up that I was very happy to have the anti nausea meds they give to chemo patients in the cabinet.
That's helping tremendously.
But, just in case it's something more sinister than antibiotics and snot, I have canceled another social get together.
Friends were supposed to come by this afternoon and play Cards Against Humanity with us, and then share my black eye pea and ham soup.
Oh well. Better safe than everyone getting a stomach bug.
I didn't really want to be social this weekend, anyway...but I would have preferred NOT to have to cancel our get-togethers because of feeling like shit!
Today, Dave will take the spaghetti to his dad, and go get his groceries for him.
I will continue to take it easy, and maybe do a little house cleaning, and make my soup.
Happy New Year to us all....may 2017 bring renewed positive energy into all of our lives.
2016 was sure a roller coaster ride for many of us.
For me, there were extreme highs: stable scans and being taken off of chemo for SIX MOTHS; getting to go home to see my family and friends (and not being bald this time); of course, the Chicago Cubs.
There were extreme lows: new cancer activity, and going back into treatment; the surreal and frightening election process; really bad morale at work; heartbreaking multiple celebrity deaths.
Even with that balance of good and bad, I am still glad to have kicked 2016 in the ass on it's way out last night.
I choose to stay positive, and I choose to hope that there are always better things to come.
I ended the year with a sinus infection and having to go on antibiotics. I hate having to take them, but I can't take any chances since I am on chemo.
My months of focusing on pro-biotics and getting my system balanced out are now wasted. I will have to start all over.
Because I was feeling pretty sick on Friday (after a few days of feeling "off," that was the worst day--when I called my nurse), we had to cancel plans to go to our friends' house for an evening of watching a movie and sipping wine. I was feverish and miserable.
Yesterday, Dave forbade me to go out for any reason, and I agreed.
So, while he went and got his car serviced, and did an errand or two, I made some spaghetti and meatballs to freeze for Dave's dad. I did the laundry, and then when he came home, Dave and I tag teamed the traditional cleaning of the fridge.
Mostly, I rested and let the antibiotics do their work.
By evening, I was feeling a lot better.
We had gotten some hot hors d'ouevres to fix, and nibbled on chips and dip last night.... No real dinner, just grazing, and it was a big treat, and our last hurrah before cleaning up the diet again after the holidays.
The weather was good for hot tubbing, so after watching 3 episodes of Game of Thrones, while we grazed on our yummies, we enjoyed the tub for an hour.
Then, the feature of our evening was watching "Harvey" with James Stewart (which was my tradition, now it's our tradition!), and making it to midnight to crack open a split of champagne and listen to fireworks (and firearms) going off all around us.
We turned on broadcast tv for the count down, and found that Saturday Night Live was replaying the show from the night that the Cubs players and Bill Murray were on, so we watched that until 1, and then went to bed.
All in all, there a lot of sitting in front of the tv yesterday and last night!
This morning, I am feeling queasy and "off" in a different way. It's probably the antibiotics, and the sinus drainage going down my throat.
The nausea was so bad when I got up that I was very happy to have the anti nausea meds they give to chemo patients in the cabinet.
That's helping tremendously.
But, just in case it's something more sinister than antibiotics and snot, I have canceled another social get together.
Friends were supposed to come by this afternoon and play Cards Against Humanity with us, and then share my black eye pea and ham soup.
Oh well. Better safe than everyone getting a stomach bug.
I didn't really want to be social this weekend, anyway...but I would have preferred NOT to have to cancel our get-togethers because of feeling like shit!
Today, Dave will take the spaghetti to his dad, and go get his groceries for him.
I will continue to take it easy, and maybe do a little house cleaning, and make my soup.
Happy New Year to us all....may 2017 bring renewed positive energy into all of our lives.
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