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.