Cable and internet are down at our house, and the world is ending. Ok, not really, but there has been a lot of drama surrounding ATT U-Verse today. Turn out that something is seriously wrong with the line going into our house, and the tech who came to take a look was unable to fix the issue because it is a "facilities" problem. Goodness knows what that means, but I hope that facilities will be able to head on over tomorrow so that we are up and running on Monday. Working from home really only works when my phone, which relies on the internet, and internet work.
I managed to scrounge up some old DVD player that must have missed one of Mike's recent purges of stuff in our house, and Franklin picked up some movies to watch from Redbox at the grocery store. We are going old school tonight.
Thank goodness that my iPad has cellular. I mean, what would I do without that in these very very first world times. Days like this make me realize how entirely dependent we are upon technology. Henry knows no different and absolutely could not understand why I was unable to pull up Paw Patrol videos on YouTube this afternoon. Quite frankly, I was happy to have a break from Paw Patrol.
We had a lovely day today. Spent the morning at the aquarium and showed Uncle Frank all of the ropes there, went out to lunch, and Franklin and Henry spent several hours at the playground this afternoon while I lounged around the house, chatted on the phone, and dealt with ATT customer service. Very nice day indeed.
Henry was able to play outside a lot today which was a nice change from earlier in the week. He had a mild stomach bug for several days this week so we were all mostly suck inside. We were all a bit stir crazy so I am glad that we were able to be out so much.
Mike is having a nice time in Virginia, and I am glad. We will also be glad to have him home safe and sound tomorrow night. I really hope that the cable is up and running by the time he gets home. I am sure that he has some Golf Channel to watch.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Friday, March 6, 2015
Day 30 - Oh Brother
It's officially brother weekend 1 of several for 2015. Mike hopped on a plane today to go and visit one of his brothers in Virginia, and one of my brothers came down for the weekend. I have 4 wonderful brothers, 2 biological brothers and 2 by marriage, and in turn, Henry has 4 wonderful uncles.
Henry, like me, is lucky to have great uncles. Frank, Ben, Ryan and Kevin all think that Henry has hung the moon, and Henry certainly reciprocates those feelings. Franklin waited until late in the night for Henry to be born and was one of the first people to hold him. Ben has spent countless days running up and down the beach with Henry. Ryan spent an entire morning building Henry a giant boat with a cardboard box and random household items. Kevin sat on our couch for hours with newborn Henry napping on his chest. Kevin didn't move because he didn't want to wake Henry and spoil those perfect moments. These are small examples of how these men have dedicated their time and their hearts to my son. It is a beautiful thing to witness, and I am so glad that Henry has such wonderful uncles...I know what it is like.
I have always been very close with my uncles and aunts and am a better person for it. Many of my happiest memories include my aunts and uncles who devoted much time to my brothers and me. Mike ran into one of my uncles, quite randomly, tonight in Virginia, and they ended up having a drink together. I am so jealous!
We don't really have huge plans for Brother Weekend Charleston but will have fun spending time together, relaxing, and talking. We do intend to go to the aquarium tomorrow morning. My dad gives me a membership to our local aquarium for my birthday every year, and it is a gift that we use over and over again. Henry loves to see the fish and watch the scuba divers in the big tank. Last time we went, we visited the sea turtle hospital in the basement of the aquarium. The Charleston aquarium rescues turtles, both in the local area and along the east coast, and brings them to the aquarium for rehabilitation and release. One patient was bitten by a shark, and another was "bitten by a boat" (as Henry says), and it is interesting to hear how far they have come and about their upcoming release.
Someone told me that I'll know when my hair is about to go by some pain in my scalp. She said that it feels like you have had your hair in tight ponytail for too long. I started to have some of that kind of feeling on parts of my scalp today so I don't think that it will be too long now. I told Henry that I will lose my hair today, and he said "oh ok" and went back to playing a game. Sweet Henry.
I do have an amendment to a blog post from yesterday: I am ALSO looking forward to next week's chemo treatment because I will be one step closer to being DONE with chemo!! Someone pointed out that I should have mentioned that, and she is absolutely right. Next week's chemo will be 2/8 so I will only have 6 more to go. #math.
Henry, like me, is lucky to have great uncles. Frank, Ben, Ryan and Kevin all think that Henry has hung the moon, and Henry certainly reciprocates those feelings. Franklin waited until late in the night for Henry to be born and was one of the first people to hold him. Ben has spent countless days running up and down the beach with Henry. Ryan spent an entire morning building Henry a giant boat with a cardboard box and random household items. Kevin sat on our couch for hours with newborn Henry napping on his chest. Kevin didn't move because he didn't want to wake Henry and spoil those perfect moments. These are small examples of how these men have dedicated their time and their hearts to my son. It is a beautiful thing to witness, and I am so glad that Henry has such wonderful uncles...I know what it is like.
I have always been very close with my uncles and aunts and am a better person for it. Many of my happiest memories include my aunts and uncles who devoted much time to my brothers and me. Mike ran into one of my uncles, quite randomly, tonight in Virginia, and they ended up having a drink together. I am so jealous!
We don't really have huge plans for Brother Weekend Charleston but will have fun spending time together, relaxing, and talking. We do intend to go to the aquarium tomorrow morning. My dad gives me a membership to our local aquarium for my birthday every year, and it is a gift that we use over and over again. Henry loves to see the fish and watch the scuba divers in the big tank. Last time we went, we visited the sea turtle hospital in the basement of the aquarium. The Charleston aquarium rescues turtles, both in the local area and along the east coast, and brings them to the aquarium for rehabilitation and release. One patient was bitten by a shark, and another was "bitten by a boat" (as Henry says), and it is interesting to hear how far they have come and about their upcoming release.
Someone told me that I'll know when my hair is about to go by some pain in my scalp. She said that it feels like you have had your hair in tight ponytail for too long. I started to have some of that kind of feeling on parts of my scalp today so I don't think that it will be too long now. I told Henry that I will lose my hair today, and he said "oh ok" and went back to playing a game. Sweet Henry.
I do have an amendment to a blog post from yesterday: I am ALSO looking forward to next week's chemo treatment because I will be one step closer to being DONE with chemo!! Someone pointed out that I should have mentioned that, and she is absolutely right. Next week's chemo will be 2/8 so I will only have 6 more to go. #math.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Day 29 - Vice
I cannot get enough of the Vice: Killing Cancer special report. If you have have HBO (or are a good Googler. I think that the full documentary is available on YouTube), I encourage you to watch. Here's a sneak peek of the episode below..look at me embedding content.
Researchers/physicians are taking some common and some not so common viruses, mutating them so that they are not infectious and injecting them into people who have cancer and have run out of options. They have seen absolutely fascinating results. In many cases, the viruses are causing patients to go into full remission. Full remission. Part of this report follows a young girl who was on the brink of death from leukemia. Her family was desperate, and in her final hour (pretty much), she was enrolled in a clinical trial in PA during which she was injected with a modified HIV virus, one of the more scary viruses of our time. The HIV virus attacked and killed the cancer cells in her body. After two very very scary weeks during which time she was in a coma because her body was working so hard, she woke up and within four weeks, no cancer could be found in her body. No cancer could be found in her body after her parents were previously told to take her home from the hospital because there was nothing left they could to to treat her cancer.
I can't even get over how absolutely amazing this is, and I am fascinated by the science behind it. What caused a doctor or group of doctors to say "hey, maybe HIV can kill this cancer." Incredible.
I read a Forbes article about this documentary that, of course, cautioned people from getting to crazy excited about this medicine because it is still being tested and is not applicable (yet) to most solid tumors (such as breast cancer), but how could one not get crazy excited about something so revolutionary.
Anyway, I encourage you to watch the documentary if you're so inclined. It is worth 42 minutes of your time or, in my case 42x5 minutes of my time...can't get enough. For some reason, I could not find it via Uverse HBO On Demand but could through HBO Go on my Roku. Go figure. Uverse On Demand is not the best though so other providers may make things easier.
I continue to feel well this week, and I think that my body is bouncing back nicely from last week's chemo treatment. I am dreading next week, on one hand, because I know that I will feel pretty lousy for a few days after treatment. On the other hand, I am looking forward to next week because that horrible red medicine is going to make me better. The lousy is worth it, and knowing what to expect will help me manage things a little bit better.
Researchers/physicians are taking some common and some not so common viruses, mutating them so that they are not infectious and injecting them into people who have cancer and have run out of options. They have seen absolutely fascinating results. In many cases, the viruses are causing patients to go into full remission. Full remission. Part of this report follows a young girl who was on the brink of death from leukemia. Her family was desperate, and in her final hour (pretty much), she was enrolled in a clinical trial in PA during which she was injected with a modified HIV virus, one of the more scary viruses of our time. The HIV virus attacked and killed the cancer cells in her body. After two very very scary weeks during which time she was in a coma because her body was working so hard, she woke up and within four weeks, no cancer could be found in her body. No cancer could be found in her body after her parents were previously told to take her home from the hospital because there was nothing left they could to to treat her cancer.
I can't even get over how absolutely amazing this is, and I am fascinated by the science behind it. What caused a doctor or group of doctors to say "hey, maybe HIV can kill this cancer." Incredible.
I read a Forbes article about this documentary that, of course, cautioned people from getting to crazy excited about this medicine because it is still being tested and is not applicable (yet) to most solid tumors (such as breast cancer), but how could one not get crazy excited about something so revolutionary.
Anyway, I encourage you to watch the documentary if you're so inclined. It is worth 42 minutes of your time or, in my case 42x5 minutes of my time...can't get enough. For some reason, I could not find it via Uverse HBO On Demand but could through HBO Go on my Roku. Go figure. Uverse On Demand is not the best though so other providers may make things easier.
I continue to feel well this week, and I think that my body is bouncing back nicely from last week's chemo treatment. I am dreading next week, on one hand, because I know that I will feel pretty lousy for a few days after treatment. On the other hand, I am looking forward to next week because that horrible red medicine is going to make me better. The lousy is worth it, and knowing what to expect will help me manage things a little bit better.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Day 28 - The Quilt
I received a quilt in the mail today. It is a hand-made quilt crafted by members of the First Baptist Church of Aiken, SC where my Grandma and Grandpa Overman have been members for more years than I've been on this earth. My Grandma requested that the church prayer group make the quilt for me, and I was moved to tears when I opened the package. Each string tie in the quilt represents a prayer that was offered up on my behalf by someone in the church congregation. They have provided me with a way to covered (in a very literal way) in prayers.
There is an off chance that I met one of the creators of this quilt when I was very very young, but it is highly unlikely which means that people who do not know me at all took the time to make me this most touching gift. People who don't even know me did something so kind and generous for me. It will be difficult for me to properly express my gratitude for the prayers and the symbol representing those prayers. I will try, but I don't know that the words will come out the right way, but hopefully they will be able to know how grateful I am.
As I've said, I can't begin to list everything for which I am grateful, but I will try on occasion. I am grateful for people who are sending me baseball caps from various areas of the country to keep my noggin warm and to also represent their strength and prayers. I am grateful for the calls, texts, Facebook messages, cards, smoke signals, owls (NERD), and emails that I get on a regular basis. The support and love has simply been overwhelming.
Over the past week or so, I've been working on a to-do list for my doctor. Well, that kind of sounds bad. I am not really going to boss him around (I will politely ask like a proper southern lady), but there are many things that I would like for him to research on my behalf. Triple negative breast cancer is a hot topic in the cancer research community, and there are a lot of medications, treatments, and clinical trials that I would like to learn more about. I listened to a webinar about TNBC (triple negative breast cancer) yesterday which really helped with some items for the to-do list. One of the doctors on the webinar encouraged participation in clinical trials, and something that he said really resonated with me "past participation in clinical trials helps us offer the best possible treatment to current patients." Those who have gone down this road before me have helped blaze the trail for my treatment plan, and I am so grateful to them. If there is anything that I can do, at any point during my journey, to help someone in the future as well as improve my current treatment plan, I AM IN.
TNBC is a particularly tricky type of breast cancer (not that there are any nice kinds) because there are no hormone receptors in triple negative tumors (hence the triple negative designation), and many breast cancer medications are designed to target hormones (can we ever get away from blaming things on hormones). I've you've ever heard of someone having to take a pill for 5+ years as part of treatment for breast cancer, she is talking about taking a pill to suppress hormones in the body to help prevent cancer recurrence. There's no 5-year pill (yet) for TNBC, but there are some post-treatment treatments (say that 5 times fast) that are being heavily researched. The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville is likely to even open a TNBC vaccine trial at the end of this year/beginning of next.
All are on the to-do research list that I will politely hand off to my doctor when I see him for my chemo treatment next week. It's color-coded and on a piece of paper with the Nelson Mandela quote "It always seems impossible until it's done." Fitting, no?
Most TNBC is highly responsive to chemotherapy, which is great news and certainly helps me through the barfy days. I swear that my lump feels smaller already. We'll see what the tape measure says next week.
There is an off chance that I met one of the creators of this quilt when I was very very young, but it is highly unlikely which means that people who do not know me at all took the time to make me this most touching gift. People who don't even know me did something so kind and generous for me. It will be difficult for me to properly express my gratitude for the prayers and the symbol representing those prayers. I will try, but I don't know that the words will come out the right way, but hopefully they will be able to know how grateful I am.
As I've said, I can't begin to list everything for which I am grateful, but I will try on occasion. I am grateful for people who are sending me baseball caps from various areas of the country to keep my noggin warm and to also represent their strength and prayers. I am grateful for the calls, texts, Facebook messages, cards, smoke signals, owls (NERD), and emails that I get on a regular basis. The support and love has simply been overwhelming.
Over the past week or so, I've been working on a to-do list for my doctor. Well, that kind of sounds bad. I am not really going to boss him around (I will politely ask like a proper southern lady), but there are many things that I would like for him to research on my behalf. Triple negative breast cancer is a hot topic in the cancer research community, and there are a lot of medications, treatments, and clinical trials that I would like to learn more about. I listened to a webinar about TNBC (triple negative breast cancer) yesterday which really helped with some items for the to-do list. One of the doctors on the webinar encouraged participation in clinical trials, and something that he said really resonated with me "past participation in clinical trials helps us offer the best possible treatment to current patients." Those who have gone down this road before me have helped blaze the trail for my treatment plan, and I am so grateful to them. If there is anything that I can do, at any point during my journey, to help someone in the future as well as improve my current treatment plan, I AM IN.
TNBC is a particularly tricky type of breast cancer (not that there are any nice kinds) because there are no hormone receptors in triple negative tumors (hence the triple negative designation), and many breast cancer medications are designed to target hormones (can we ever get away from blaming things on hormones). I've you've ever heard of someone having to take a pill for 5+ years as part of treatment for breast cancer, she is talking about taking a pill to suppress hormones in the body to help prevent cancer recurrence. There's no 5-year pill (yet) for TNBC, but there are some post-treatment treatments (say that 5 times fast) that are being heavily researched. The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville is likely to even open a TNBC vaccine trial at the end of this year/beginning of next.
All are on the to-
Most TNBC is highly responsive to chemotherapy, which is great news and certainly helps me through the barfy days. I swear that my lump feels smaller already. We'll see what the tape measure says next week.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Day 27 - Carbs
PC (pre-cancer), I spent a lot of time focusing on food. What to eat, what to not eat, when to eat, how much to eat, etc. You name it, I agonized over it. I had basically eliminated many food groups from my diet - diary, all grains, sugar, beans, to name a few. I felt great! I had energy for days, which lead to really incredible workouts at Orangetheory Fitness and really solid sleep at night. My carbs came from starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and squash. Nary a refined carb passed my lips, and I basically was only eating fruit, vegetables, meat, and healthy fats. Some might ask "why would you do that to yourself?" I will refer you to the "energy for days" comment above.
Boy has that changed. While I would like to eventually get back to my ultra-healthy ways of eating, it's just not happening right now. I have been advised to "eat what sounds good," and even if I had not gotten that advice, I would be doing it anyway. The nausea from my first round of chemo rendered it absolutely impossible for me to get a vegetable past my lips, even my beloved eggplant and beets (weird I know). Fruit, ok. Vegetable, absolutely not right after chemo. I can stomach some veggies now.
The nausea is much much better and I am able to expand my palette a little bit, but portion sizes are still very small. I do realize that focusing on my overall health is extremely important during my treatment, but the AC chemo is not allowing me to be too particular (nutrient-wise) about what gets into my belly. All calories are good calories at this point. Perhaps the next type of chemo will be more kind to my stomach. If not, this just may be the year that I can get back into a two piece bathing suit. (I say that in jest for anyone who just thought "I can't believe she is thinking about something so trivial right now.")
I will also not have to worry about my hair blowing into my eyes at the beach this summer. No pony tail, hat, or headband could tame the beast that is (soon to be was) my hair, and it was always getting into my eyes. Bright side. This year, I will have to worry about sunscreen for my bald head (or semi-bald head because my hair will grow back over the summer). I'll be able to relate to balding men across the world this year. Bright side.
I plan to park my potentially skinny, very pale, and probably pretty bald self at the beach as much as humanly possible this spring/summer. I love the beach, and we are so fortunate to live a mere 30 minutes away from it. I'll probably have to get some kind of tent or umbrella this year because chemo can increase sun sensitivity, but that is ok. I'll lather up in high SPF, which I do anyway, and park it. Henry loves the beach, I love watching him love the beach, and Mike loves it as long as he has some kind of activity to do. He can't just sit there for hours like I can, but that is typical of him anyway.
Henry has energy for days regardless of his particular dietary choices at any given time, and his energy increases tenfold at the beach. It invigorates him and always has. He runs and runs and runs, jumps in the waves, digs a few holes, and runs some more. It is both tiring and extremely impressive to watch.
Hopefully we'll be able to convince some friend to join us at the beach this summer too. It's usually a pretty easy sell.
Boy has that changed. While I would like to eventually get back to my ultra-healthy ways of eating, it's just not happening right now. I have been advised to "eat what sounds good," and even if I had not gotten that advice, I would be doing it anyway. The nausea from my first round of chemo rendered it absolutely impossible for me to get a vegetable past my lips, even my beloved eggplant and beets (weird I know). Fruit, ok. Vegetable, absolutely not right after chemo. I can stomach some veggies now.
The nausea is much much better and I am able to expand my palette a little bit, but portion sizes are still very small. I do realize that focusing on my overall health is extremely important during my treatment, but the AC chemo is not allowing me to be too particular (nutrient-wise) about what gets into my belly. All calories are good calories at this point. Perhaps the next type of chemo will be more kind to my stomach. If not, this just may be the year that I can get back into a two piece bathing suit. (I say that in jest for anyone who just thought "I can't believe she is thinking about something so trivial right now.")
I will also not have to worry about my hair blowing into my eyes at the beach this summer. No pony tail, hat, or headband could tame the beast that is (soon to be was) my hair, and it was always getting into my eyes. Bright side. This year, I will have to worry about sunscreen for my bald head (or semi-bald head because my hair will grow back over the summer). I'll be able to relate to balding men across the world this year. Bright side.
I plan to park my potentially skinny, very pale, and probably pretty bald self at the beach as much as humanly possible this spring/summer. I love the beach, and we are so fortunate to live a mere 30 minutes away from it. I'll probably have to get some kind of tent or umbrella this year because chemo can increase sun sensitivity, but that is ok. I'll lather up in high SPF, which I do anyway, and park it. Henry loves the beach, I love watching him love the beach, and Mike loves it as long as he has some kind of activity to do. He can't just sit there for hours like I can, but that is typical of him anyway.
Henry has energy for days regardless of his particular dietary choices at any given time, and his energy increases tenfold at the beach. It invigorates him and always has. He runs and runs and runs, jumps in the waves, digs a few holes, and runs some more. It is both tiring and extremely impressive to watch.
Hopefully we'll be able to convince some friend to join us at the beach this summer too. It's usually a pretty easy sell.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Day 26 - Travel
Last year, I traveled for work at least once a month with a few exceptions. I don't think that I traveled in June, and I know that I didn't travel in December. The trips were all over the place, and there were some fun trips along the way. In September, alone, I was in Chicago, Milwaukee, Las Vegas, Los Angeles (for approx 13 hours), and Texas. I didn't even have time to reach out to LA family while I was there because I landed at 9pm, slept, looked at two hotels for events, and took off at noon the next day. It was crazy and very exhausting.
This year will be different. I will not be able to travel as much as last year, and that is a good thing. I took two work trips already this year - one in January, and one in February, and that will be it for a long time. My treatment plan will not allow for travel, and it will not allow me to keep the pace that I did in 2014. This will be a time for slowing town, a time for healing, and a time to really focus on what is important in my life - family and health.
I do have an event in LA in October that I would like to try to work. It is at the end of October, and if I can start my radiation no later than the beginning of September, I should be able to go. Maybe Mike and Henry will join me, and we'll make a trip out of it and see our family out there. I do love Southern California. The event is going to be at the Millennium Biltmore in Downtown LA, which is a beautiful hotel, but it is insanely creepy. There is absolutely no way that it is not haunted. I was there for 1 hour in broad daylight in the morning and got the chills a few times walking through the place. Should be interesting if I actually get to stay there for a few nights. I promised a co-worker that we could get adjoining rooms in case we get spooked during the night.
There is something about travel that I like. I've been fortunate to see new places, stay in beautiful hotels, and meet very interesting people along the way, but work travel can be lonely. Sure, I am up for walking around a new place by myself or having a meal by myself, but there is only so much of that one can do. I enjoy the opportunity to travel to these places, and I enjoy coming home from them even more. I've often crept into Henry's room late at night after returning from a trip to just look at him for a little while and kiss his sweet sleeping face (I do that every night, to be honest, but there is something different about it after being gone for a little while).
Henry continues to be my little hero. I was showing him pictures of women without hair over the weekend to get him used to the idea. As I was showing him a picture of a particularly striking woman, I said "isn't she beautiful." "Yes, mom. She certainly is." He loves to use "certainly" in conversation. It is very endearing.
I talked to a woman today who is a 15-year survivor of triple negative breast cancer, and it was so great to talk to her. She had some helpful advice and gave me some great suggestions to help cope with anxiety and negative thoughts. She recommended starting something called "The Morning Pages." Each morning (or whenever) hand-write 3 notebook pages worth of thoughts. Just random free-flowing thoughts. No editing, spell checking, or monitoring what I am saying. I am to allow it to be a place where I can express anxiety and worry, and it should be my only place/time to worry. As she said, if a thought comes into your mind, tell yourself that you are saving it for "The Morning Pages" and move on with your day. I like it.
Now, I am off to find the perfect notebook for The Morning Pages. I've got one in mind...
This year will be different. I will not be able to travel as much as last year, and that is a good thing. I took two work trips already this year - one in January, and one in February, and that will be it for a long time. My treatment plan will not allow for travel, and it will not allow me to keep the pace that I did in 2014. This will be a time for slowing town, a time for healing, and a time to really focus on what is important in my life - family and health.
I do have an event in LA in October that I would like to try to work. It is at the end of October, and if I can start my radiation no later than the beginning of September, I should be able to go. Maybe Mike and Henry will join me, and we'll make a trip out of it and see our family out there. I do love Southern California. The event is going to be at the Millennium Biltmore in Downtown LA, which is a beautiful hotel, but it is insanely creepy. There is absolutely no way that it is not haunted. I was there for 1 hour in broad daylight in the morning and got the chills a few times walking through the place. Should be interesting if I actually get to stay there for a few nights. I promised a co-worker that we could get adjoining rooms in case we get spooked during the night.
There is something about travel that I like. I've been fortunate to see new places, stay in beautiful hotels, and meet very interesting people along the way, but work travel can be lonely. Sure, I am up for walking around a new place by myself or having a meal by myself, but there is only so much of that one can do. I enjoy the opportunity to travel to these places, and I enjoy coming home from them even more. I've often crept into Henry's room late at night after returning from a trip to just look at him for a little while and kiss his sweet sleeping face (I do that every night, to be honest, but there is something different about it after being gone for a little while).
Henry continues to be my little hero. I was showing him pictures of women without hair over the weekend to get him used to the idea. As I was showing him a picture of a particularly striking woman, I said "isn't she beautiful." "Yes, mom. She certainly is." He loves to use "certainly" in conversation. It is very endearing.
I talked to a woman today who is a 15-year survivor of triple negative breast cancer, and it was so great to talk to her. She had some helpful advice and gave me some great suggestions to help cope with anxiety and negative thoughts. She recommended starting something called "The Morning Pages." Each morning (or whenever) hand-write 3 notebook pages worth of thoughts. Just random free-flowing thoughts. No editing, spell checking, or monitoring what I am saying. I am to allow it to be a place where I can express anxiety and worry, and it should be my only place/time to worry. As she said, if a thought comes into your mind, tell yourself that you are saving it for "The Morning Pages" and move on with your day. I like it.
Now, I am off to find the perfect notebook for The Morning Pages. I've got one in mind...
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Day 25 - G.I. Jane
I was pretty tired this morning from staying out way past my bedtime last night, but it was worth it. We had a great time with our friends and got to meet some new people along the way. We went to a late dinner at a restaurant downtown called Fish. Little did I know that the bar at Fish turns into Club Fish as Saturday night wears on. Club Fish was the total package - loud, dark, and full of girls wearing hardly any clothes. I ran into some of those girls during a trip to the ladies before we left. They were loudly chatting and carrying on, and I was hoping that all of their parts stayed in their very stretchy dresses. There was a line, of course, and a young(ish) girl stood behind me. When it was my turn, she said "go ahead, miss." Go ahead miss. MAN, am I that old?! I thought that I was dressed pretty nice in my black dress and tall brown boots, but apparently, my age is showing a little bit. Go ahead, miss. I had fun telling everyone that story when I returned to the table.
I was saying goodbye to our friend Michael last night, and was telling him that I am going to call him when my hair starts to go so that he can bring his clippers over and buzz my head. Someone else (unaware of my situation) overheard me saying that and said "what are you going G.I. Jane on us?" He has no idea. Yes, I am going G.I. Jane, in more ways that one. Such an apropos remark given the current test of my physical, mental, and emotional abilities with which I am currently being presented.
It was rainy and dreary in Charleston today so we stuck to indoor activities. Mike and Henry ran some errands and got Henry a much-needed haircut while I devoured a People Magazine that a friend sent to me and relaxed for a little while. In the afternoon, I took Henry to play with a friend at Monkey Joe's. Monkey Joe's is a kid's dream come true - bounce castles, slides, and junk food. It can get really crowded, and the big kids can be a problem, but Henry loves it so much and can totally hold his own with the big kids. He's always been able to do that. Mike enjoyed some well-deserved down time while Henry and I were out.
Tonight at bedtime, Henry chose a book of Irish Stories for Children that his grandma got him when she went to Ireland a few years ago. It is a very nice book, but I can only pronounce every other word in it so I just make up names and locations as I go. There is a lot to love about the Irish, but their affinity for spelling things exactly opposite of how they should be pronounced is not one of them.
Over and Out,
G.I. Jane
I was saying goodbye to our friend Michael last night, and was telling him that I am going to call him when my hair starts to go so that he can bring his clippers over and buzz my head. Someone else (unaware of my situation) overheard me saying that and said "what are you going G.I. Jane on us?" He has no idea. Yes, I am going G.I. Jane, in more ways that one. Such an apropos remark given the current test of my physical, mental, and emotional abilities with which I am currently being presented.
It was rainy and dreary in Charleston today so we stuck to indoor activities. Mike and Henry ran some errands and got Henry a much-needed haircut while I devoured a People Magazine that a friend sent to me and relaxed for a little while. In the afternoon, I took Henry to play with a friend at Monkey Joe's. Monkey Joe's is a kid's dream come true - bounce castles, slides, and junk food. It can get really crowded, and the big kids can be a problem, but Henry loves it so much and can totally hold his own with the big kids. He's always been able to do that. Mike enjoyed some well-deserved down time while Henry and I were out.
Tonight at bedtime, Henry chose a book of Irish Stories for Children that his grandma got him when she went to Ireland a few years ago. It is a very nice book, but I can only pronounce every other word in it so I just make up names and locations as I go. There is a lot to love about the Irish, but their affinity for spelling things exactly opposite of how they should be pronounced is not one of them.
Over and Out,
G.I. Jane
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