Ooh Child Things Are Gonna Get Easier

Yesterday's Chemo treatment was a lot easier than the first, although not any shorter. It was a little hairy at the beginning when the vein in my hand blew and it is a beautiful shade of turquoise, but that was the only set back. Turquoise is my favorite color. Once again, Sonny Boy stayed with me, which made the time pass rather quickly and he even went on a chocolate-run to the vending machine. God, I love that kid!!

Yes, I really did wear my "Doesn't Play Well With Other's" T-shirt and it got a lot of chuckles from my medical team. They felt duly warned.

Since the prednisone regiment has started again, I was up at the crack of dawn this morning. Mr. Bailey got up with me, but wasn't too happy to leave his nice warm spot on the bed, however, he was so afraid that he would miss something - so he came downstairs with me and proceeded to pace around the kitchen table.


At 5AM, there really isn't much to do, so I decided to paint my fingernails. When I went in search of the nail polish, Mr. Bailey decided that he needed my cup of coffee more than I did, if we were going to get up at these ungodly hours. Doesn't he look bright-eyed and bushy tailed now?

Having a Great Week

Sorry that I haven't been posting, but I have really been having a whirlwind of a week and feeling great, too.


Well, last week started off kind of traumatic. Needless to say, bandannas and baseball caps are now a few new accessories that I've added to my wardrobe. I don't recognize the person that I see in the mirror, so the new accessories really help.

Part of the MAGIC is that I get to decide what illusion of me that I want people to see. I'll have plenty of time to perfect my craft. I'm also glad that I'm kind of artsy - so I can perform some more magic with make-up. Now, where is that handsome prince? Or, doesn't he get up as early as I do? I still want the fairy tale!!!

Enough said. I'll just move on to the fun stuff.

My Mom, Granddaughter and I had a "Girls Day Out" last Wednesday. We went to lunch at the Macaroni Grill and made a toast to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". I don't think we ever stopped laughing the rest of the day. We had a great waiter that insisted on singing to us from our salad order to the progress of our meal and every time he went passed the table. He even sang to us as we were leaving.


Then, we went shopping at the Christmas Tree Shop, which just opened here a few weeks ago. We had a cartful of stuff that we didn't know we needed. This is a great place to separate you from your money. Then, it was like Christmas when we got home and started unwrapping all of our treasures.




On Saturday, I spent the day with my very best and dearest Friend, Judy. We went shopping, had a nice leisurely lunch, more shopping, and then we sat in Starbucks having coffee and talking about everything under the sun. The greatest part of having a best friend is the freedom to let Me be Me. No pressure to say what people want to hear. And, boy did we talk.....




Judy gave me this beautiful basket which is perfect for holding my embroidery project. It makes me smile because Judy knows what a "Basket Case" I have been these past few months - so this basket means so much. Thank you, Judy.




On Sunday, Sonny Boy, came over for dinner. It was just the two of us and it's so nice to have him all to myself at times. He also brought me the first two cucumbers from his garden. I had started the plants from seeds and insisted that he plant them and now we are reaping the rewards.


Today was supposed to be Chemo Day (can you believe it's been 3 weeks already?), but they didn't have a nurse to do the infusion, so I have a day reprieve. Any good thoughts coming my way will be greatly appreciated.



Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my friend and fellow-blogger, Mrs. Staggs http://ahappymiscellany.typepad.com/ for all of her kindness and good wishes that she has directed my way. I'm going to be dancing in those new shoes really soon, Lena - just like Cinderella.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

"The only thing constant in life is change."

—Francois de la Rouchefoucauld, French classical author

I feel like in the past few weeks that I have had to make numerous changes in my life - some good and some I would not have made had I not been backed into a corner. I've had to cut out caffeine and I actually eat breakfast now. I can't have any salad (and all of that produce just begging to be eaten). Thankfully, we've been getting quite a bit of rain, so my garden still looks pretty good since I've been neglecting it. Everything I try to do takes so much longer than it used to. I've had to change how I brush my teeth and how often , however, my dentist should be happy about that. The baking soda rinse is doing wonders for my mouth, I might add. I can't have any spicy or salty foods (bummer), but I'll save that up for when all of this is all over. Thanks, Ann (Ancient One) for the tip on slathering Miracle Whip on everything -- not the Miracle I was looking for, tho! I almost feel like I have been dropped into someone else's life, but everything looks so familiar.

Sleep still eludes me - I can only sleep for two hours at a time. I'm 11 days into this "commitment" and I thought I would "crash and burn" by now. Poor, Mr. Bailey, he has given up on me and just stays in bed while I do my middle of the night rendezvous'. I came home from work the other night and Mr. Bailey was not sitting in the window waiting for me. I couldn't find him. I searched the downstairs, even looked in the backyard (I've been a tad forgetful but I couldn't imagine forgetting him), back through the house, called upstairs. No Bailey. Finally, I walked into my bedroom and there he was still sound asleep on my bed. I scared him - he jumped straight up in the air; then started jumping around like he was so glad to see me. Some watchdog he is!!!!

I did manage to stay all day at work this week and this was a nice diversion. I can't seem to multi-task like I used to - I have to concentrate on one thing at a time, otherwise, I'll forget. I used to be a finger-popping, can't wait an extra second kind of gal. I think "they" killed off some of my brain cells, along with the cancer cells; or else I have a small pinhole size leak in my head. I seem to have a thought on each side of my brain, but when it tries to come together...pssssst, it leaks through the hole. Then, every once in a while, I have an brainstorm - and damn, I'm astounded.

I am still being showered with gifts - and I kind of like it, she says guiltily. I'm amassing quite a collection of angels, but these Angels with Attitude are my personal favorites. I also received a T-shirt from another friend that knows me soooo well that says "Doesn't Play Well With Others" and she wants me to wear it to my next chemo appointment - so everyone will be duly warned. LOL!

Being an adult, you learn to buffer your thoughts. You are thinking one thing and saying what the person wants to hear is usually what comes out of your mouth. I think I lost that buffer (hopefully, this is only temporary), because whatever I'm thinking comes right out my mouth before I can stop it. WOW, you should see some of the reactions that I get. (he-he) Ooops, must be the chemo!!

I'm going to try to have some sewing kits ready for when I can't sleep. Spending time in my sewing room has been non-existent. I think maybe I don't want any part of sewing/quilting related to chemo. That's mine and cancer is not going to take that, too.

What Goes Up...Must Come Down

After being the Energizer Bunny on Steroids for the past 5 days, with a nice clean house, too, I might add, I can't seem to get out of my own way now. Another of God's funny little ha-ha's. And, believe me, he has thrown a few of these my way. Let's start with food. I'm supposed to be eating 4-6 small meals a day. By the time I finish eating and wash out the dish...ooops, it's time to eat again. Then, we'll throw you a taste curve ball. I haven't decided what that burning taste is going on in my mouth, but nothing tastes like it should. My meal time entertainment has consisted of trying to guess what I'm eating. I couldn't tell the difference between chicken, broccoli, potato chips nor pizza, it all has the same burning sensation. The only thing that tastes like it should it a nice cuppa tea with milk.

Science was never my strong-suit, and, even, Newton needed the apple to hit him in the head to discover the laws of gravity, but the Queen of Grand Delusion knows that what goes up...will come down....when you least expect it. Bailey and I have played throw the tennis ball long enough to know this is a fact. I finally went back to work yesterday. I really thought that I would jump right back in and just be my normal self (hence that royal title). Was the walk always that far from the parking lot to the building? Did the hallways get longer while I was gone? Did they add a few more steps on the staircase? I found myself saying, "Just put one foot in front of the other" over and over. I've felt better with a hang-over.

It was nice to see everyone again. And, I must have trained them right, because everyone told me how good I looked. You know, just that right pause when saying it, too. If you say it too fast, it sounds forced. If there is too much of a delay, you know they just felt the need to say something. Did they think I was on vacation?????

I am now dog-assed tired (so this is what it feels like, eh, Bailey?). You know, when you want to sleep for days and sleep just won't come. You try to will yourself to sleep and you are even more wide awake. The more you crave sleep, the whinier you get. Yep, that was me. Hard to believe, huh?

Hey, Debbie Macomber, if you are reading my Blog, I have enjoyed reading your books.

I did have a little victory party this morning when I actually slept through the night. Six hours of uninterrupted sleep. I was so happy that I called my Mom. We squealed with delight. Did she feel like this when I was a baby? I'm sure I was the perfect child, right, Mom?

I know this doesn't compare with taking the last few stitches to finishing a quilt nor sewing on the binding, but I'm grabbing for any small victory in the "Kim Column". So, for now, I will have to live vicariously through other's blogs and I will do a victory dance at your accomplishments. So, bring it on. I need a new pair of dancing shoes!

It Must Be the Meds

I've been on a prednisone High for 4 days now and functioning on 4 hours of sleep. I thought I was supposed to be tired??? My house has never looked so clean. I actually ate breakfast in the yard at 6AM with the birds while Mr. Bailey was still sleeping. You don't think 6AM is that early? Well, I had already read the paper, cleaned the kitchen and did a little dead-heading in the garden before breakfast. That's early for me and on a Saturday.

I received a lovely basket of goodies from my circle of friends at work and I've just had so much fun opening all the gifts. It's so nice to have such wonderful friends that know me so well -- there were quilt kits, fat-quarters, quilting magazines, gardening magazines, a tote bag to carry my knitting, angels, garden thingies , seeds, sudoku puzzle book, an electronic sudoku game and all kinds of things to pass the time while doing chemo along with another tote bag to carry my stuff in. (Yes, Meggie, I'm "doing " Chemo!!! LOL!) And, how could I forget ..... lots of chocolate. Chocolate just feeds the soul and makes everything better! If any of you are reading this, thanks Garden Buds!

I'll be taking my teddy bear with me next time, since I was the youngest person in one of the chemo chairs.

My friend that gave me the quilt kits is challenging me to see who can finish their kit first. Won't she be surprised if I have mine finished before going back to work on Monday????? If I keep up this pace, I may just meet that challenge. Or, do I sound like an over-achiever???

We are in the midst of a heat wave here, the 4th straight day in the 90's, so my time outside has been limited to early morning or early evening. I'm afraid that if I melt, I would be a puddle of chemicals.

Thanks again for all of your good wishes and prayers, they must be helping, because I'm feeling good. My granddaughter called me the other night and we had quite the chat (girl talk) and she had me laughing and giggling. It was better medicine than anything in those pill bottles.

I'm a Chemo Clubber

Today, August 1st, was the day I was dreading. Belonging to the Chemo Club was not a club that I wanted to join. But, now that it is a memory, it doesn't seem so quite so bad.

The hardest part of all of this was trying to navigate the pole on my trip to the restroom. The wheels did not want to move in sync, so I had to pull, push, drag it. I told my son that I always wanted to try pole dancing, but he closed his eyes and told me "Too Much Information, Mom".

One "Cootie Killing" treatment down [Thanks, ChickenLady (Cindy), this phrase makes me laugh] and 5 more to go. I only had a slight reaction to the meds, so they stopped for about 20 minutes and then resumed. I was done in 4.5 hours - rather than the 6-8 hours that they planned. Do you think I was an over-achiever? I guess I must have had a little more chutzpah than I thought. My son stayed with me and words cannot express how grateful that I am. I knew I had to stay strong because he doesn't think his Mom has a weak bone in her body (what did I ingrain in his head?) I don't think my right leg knew that, because I could have tapped out any song that you wanted to hear.

Mrs. Staggs had asked me what she thought Dr. FAH's nickname for me was. I've decided that it was "Evil Spawn". This also makes me laugh uncontrollably. Hey, the Evil Spawn couldn't possible be a coward, right?

When it was time to leave, boy, did I walk out of there feeling like a "Space Cadet". Between the prednisone High and the anti-nausea/benadryl LOW, I felt like I was stuck somewhere in the middle, just watching the world revolve from somewhere in outer space.

I had printed out all of my good thoughts, wishes, prayers and hugs and it was like you were all there with me - my chemo buddies.

Since I'm off for the next few days, I plan to spend some quality quilting time in my sewing room.

And, in case you were wondering, Dr. Bailey has not left my side. At least he has a good bedside manner and lots of dog-breath kisses.