The Beginning of Fall

Fall is officially here, at least to me it is. I know that technically fall doesn't start for a while. But since school is back in session, it is for all intensive purposes, fall. Now I just wish that we would have fall like weather as well, then I would be absolutely tickled.

Natalie started school this past Thursday, which I honestly don't see the point to. I mean really, what good is it to go for two whole days? Monday will be her first full week. I am thoroughly enjoying the peace and quiet. Especially now that I am scrapbooking again, which I didn't get to actually do enough of this past week.

I spent one day attempting to organize all our pictures, which isn't quite as bad as it seems. It turns out that I have not printed any pictures since December 2005. Needless to say I am uploading obscene amounts of pix to have printed. And while I said I spent a day organizing photos, that did not include organizing digital files, which I need to do desperately. Luckily I have files left to go through, cause after my hard drive frying last weekend, I wasn't sure if I had lost everything or not. As it turned out, I had backed up about 6 months ago, so the loss was minimal.

Wednesday Natalie lost her first molar. I panicked when she told me it was loose. For some reason I didn't think it was normal for a molar to be loose. But my friend Joanna told me it was normal and no big deal. I was so relieved cause I thought for sure we'd have to make an emergency visit to the dentist. Natalie got to meet her new teacher at a back to school bash at the school. Afterwards, we attempted to watch a Saints practice game. But due to the weather it had been canceled. It really had me bummed, cause I was looking forward to hopefully getting some pictures and autographs...oh well, I'm going to try to make it to the practice tomorrow mourning if I can. Thursday Natalie came home from school missing another tooth! She had lost her second molar while at school. Thing is, we didn't even know it was loose!













Friday Ruben hooked up my new computer. He had gotten all the parts in on Thursday, and got it all put together. Once Natalie got home from school, we got ready to head to the Dome. Ruben was given tickets to the first pre-season game against the Bengals. We're splitting season tickets with one of his friends from work, so we get to go to half of the regular season games and maybe both pre-season ones. It seems everyone at the office had plans and were unable to go to the game. So we had extra seats. Me, Ruben, Danny and Natalie got to go, and we had two extra tickets to bring along our friends Arlene and Abby. We had a lot of fun, and the Saints won. I have some 500 pictures to go through and post onto Flickr, but here are a few for you to enjoy now.....

Summer's Drawing to a Close

Summer is dwindling down, and will be over before you know it. Not summer the season, but summer vacation. In just 13 more days Natalie will be going back to school. I've already done all her back to school shopping for supplies, uniforms, and necessities. Which is always fun, except for all the money spent on such items. Though I love the whole school uniform thing cause it's no hassle, I hate that we're buying 2 whole sets of wardrobe....one that she only wears to school. I'm both relieved and worried. We've had enough issues in the past with certain teachers, and faculty members at the school that I'm just really not looking forward to do it all over again. I personally cannot wait until she is out of this elementary school and into middle school next year. But I am trying to keep an open mind, and remain somewhat hopeful that this year and this teacher will be different.

One of my biggest concerns is that Natalie has really gotten into playing this one video game, and doing stuff online and I'm afraid that it will interfere with her desire to learn and excel. I'm just not sure how to get her excited anymore. Maybe it's time to try Sylvan, or at least it will be if this year doesn't go according to plan. I checked out their website and found that they have samples you can download for grades K-5, and a partner site called Book Adventure where you can search for grade appropriate books, and quizzes which will come in real handy! This way I can make sure that not only is she reading, but that she's comprehending! I'm going to have to weed through all my old links and check out what other types of tools I can find to help her succeed.

Other than gearing up for school there really hasn't been a whole lot going on around here. I've been doing lots of reading. I finished my Walt Disney book. I read the MJ Unmasked book in under 12 hours - which let me just say that not all the sensational claims lived up to the hype. It did manage to change my opinion on a thing or two, but it wasn't quite the bombshell it was supposed to be. Now I am onto reading Night World.....yes, more vampire books. I'm really having a difficult time finding just the right books. Some I've picked up are just too lame, and others I just can't fully get into. But so far I am enjoying the first book even though it is considered "young adult."
Ruben and I are still dieting. I've lost 10 pounds since we came back from Disney 3 weeks ago, and Ruben has lost 18. Though I swear you can't see it on either of us. The only difference I've noticed lately is that it seems my panties are a bit larger. I know this cause they are constantly bothering me because they shift and ride up. Had they fit right I wouldn't be having this problem. I wish I could actually see the difference. I'd think that with all the walking I've been doing that my legs would slim down some, but they haven't really. Or at least not noticeably. I go back to the clinic next week for another weigh in, so I'm hoping to shave a few more pounds off before then. I'm a little concerned about my surgery coming up for the 24th. I'll probably be resting for about a week, and while I can watch what I eat, I won't be up for walking or biking. I'm hoping that the inactivity doesn't affect me in a huge way!

While I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet that comes with back to school, I feel as if I'm in a race against time. It's not like we have any last minute vacation getaway planned, but I would like to do something before school starts again. Perhaps if the weather isn't too bad we can visit a park or zoo, or even catch another movie or something. Do you have any plans to celebrate the end of summer?

Help Raise Money for Diabetes

Natalie is participating again in her school's diabetes walk. Last year she did quite well, raising the 3rd highest amount. I'm hoping she will meet her goals once again this year. If you would like to make a donation for the walk, you may do so here.

Rock On!

Today is the start of Guitar Lessons for Natalie. I'm so excited yet so worried. Learning to play guitar will not be easy - and I seriously wonder how big of a difference it would make between a 4string bass and a 6 string lead. To me I think a bass would be easier since you have less strings - yet if you learn to play lead, does that mean you can play either? I was hoping to get in touch with an old friend that plays guitar back in Vegas so I could get a little insight. But since chemo my memory isn't what it once was and I'm having problems locating him. Oh well, I think it's too late to exchange our guitar anyway.

So once Nat gets home from school, we'll have to rush to eat, do homework, take her bath, take pictures, load everything up - including the camcorder. It's going to be busy - and I hope I don't forget anything! Ruben's out of town today so he'll miss seeing her - but that's what the camcorder is for. I'll upload photos and video probably tomorrow.

I've got lots to do this week. I've got errands to run - like packages to ship, go to the store, these lessons. Homework and studying with Natalie - she's having some problems at school, but the funny thing is she's fine at home. I don't know what to make of it, but I have to get to the bottom of it. If she falls behind in school it's because I'm failing as a parent. Then I also need to complete a scrapbook LO, cause Heather challenged me. My studio is a disaster and I have no idea how to organize and clean it. It's a major job that's going to require some help. I've got stickers and die cuts strewn across the floor and table top that need to be straightened up. I don't know how I'm going to find anything to do this page - AGH! Then to top it off Danny leave this Saturday. Man that's gonna suck - though I am feeling a bit better, I still feel lethargic at times. I really need to get my thyroid checked by a specialist. Though what I feel now won't even come close once I start chemo. I'm so not looking forward to that! I see the doctor on Monday. I have some questions and tests I'd like done. It's a bit strange, but I want my estrogen levels tested. Since I had my ovaries removed in 2005, my estrogen levels should be very low - but what I have learned in the last few months is:
1) having PCOS is a main cause of adult acne, not just stress - and PCOS never goes away even with removal of the ovaries.
2) my cancer returned because Femara failed to prevent my estrogen from binding with my mutant cancerous cells.
So I'm curious just how high my estrogen production is and why. If what the other doctor said about my cancer possibly returning is true, well then it would be because the estrogen made it grow. So is the a way to prevent it - cause I really, really hate this cancer shit. Twice in three years is enough for my lifetime - thank you very much!

I think I have a new favorite song. Have you heard Pink's So What? I LOVE it. I dig her music. U & UR Hand happens to be another favorite of mine!
Here's the video - it's so funny - I love when she chops down the tree!

Mother Nature has her own plans....

....and luckily we are prepared for it.


Wednesday night our neighbor came by and offered us a generator that his buddy was selling. I came in mid-way through the talk - but from what I gathered it had very little use, will just about power our whole house and we can even buy a part and hook it up to a natural gas-line to make it more energy efficient, rather than leave it run on gasoline. I told him we'd take it and we got it last night. Our neighbor is going to set us up with some kind of cable/plug so when a storm hits we'll just plug it in and fire it up. I need to talk with someone from the gas company about running a line and such since we don't have any gas powered appliances before I go buy this part - but at least I know we can use it regardless. Besides we got it for a pretty decent price and we know that Craig will help us out with it if we ever have any problems. He's a pretty stand up guy and quite handy and mechanically inclined.....not to say Ruben isn't, it's just Ruben's more into building pc's instead of engines.


So yesterday as Ruben was leaving for work he saw a couple guys working on the roof across the street from us. He told me to go talk to them about the patch we need - and not only did they fix it but they also fixed the siding that was falling - AND they did it all super fast and for a very good price! After work Ruben went over to get the generator and I assembled a mini-album from Scrapbooking with Lisa Bearnson. I'm thinking of giving this one away as a gift. While I was out after my dentist appointment yesterday I stopped by Target to get a few things and found some $1 goodies as well as some clearance scrapbooking merchandise. I've posted all the pix on Flickr if ya wanna take a peek.

Then last night we got a call from the Parish School Board. Due to Hurricane Ike (though it's 230 miles away at the moment) school was cancelled for today as we were expecting to receive Tropical Storm force winds and possible flooding due to storm surge. It actually worked out quite favorable all though I was supposed to have a PTC today. It's a good thing it was cancelled as well cause I would have been one cranky bitch. First off getting to sleep was difficult cause it sounded as though the window might break, then once I did finally fall asleep the tornado siren sounded sometime around 2 something. When the watch was over we went back to bed. It seemed like barely any time had passed when the siren went off again. Now it was 5ish. Ruben decided to just stay awake. I sat up with him for a bit, but then decided I better try to get some rest. It was right about 7:30 when Natalie came in disturbing my rest to let me know that she threw up all over her floor. It was truly disgusting. I cleaned it up and gave her a Pepto for kids - she then proceeded to puke that up as well. I scrubbed the carpet the best I could, but does that pinkish color EVER come out? Finally I gave up, convinced that I had gotten it all. I lay back down and I'll be damned if that tornado siren didn't go off again. UGH! Now this time we have a warning instead of a watch......and it was extended from 9am to 1pm. The news said they had a confirmed sighting of a touch down near us. Awesome. I've had little sleep and now I have this to worry about on top of a sick child - but hey, I still have power - so at least there is some good news!


Here is the album - check out the rest on Flickr!

"Evacuation" Over

Since my cancer recurred this year we did not have a real vacation - but thanks to Gustav we had an evacuation. Now that it has passed, most power has been restored, and Ike appears to be heading to Tex-Mex, school is back in session starting in the morning. Which means it's about time for me to hit the sack as I've got to get up early tomorrow.....blah.

Yesterday I had to run into town to the pharmacy. While I was there I stopped at the scrap store and signed up for a Book of Me class on the 20th at the Mandeville store. The teacher is someone I met on Scrapbook.com. I'm so excited - I can't wait. In preparation of the class I bought some Cricut cartridges from Creative Xpress......shh, don't tell Ruben, LOL!

Today I got an estimate for chopping down our trees in the backyard. All I got to say is OUCH! I'm not sure what would be more cost effective - cutting down 8 trees that are 10 - 30 feet tall or paying the deductible if one fell on our house. I've got a few companies coming tomorrow and hopefully one will have a good price.

Then Thursday I go back to the dentist - yay! Actually it's not that bad, he's a really cool dentist and he's very reasonable - I just have to remember to do some work on my iPod before I go. While I'm there I need to see about getting Natalie in there, but since school is back in session it will be hard to find a time that will work. As it is I know she'll be getting out early one day as I need to schedule her a check up to make sure she has all her shots and stuff. I have to be careful about the time she misses from school as she signed up for some club activities (art, music and some athletic sporty one - but I'm not sure which activity she got as it's first come first serve) and if she misses school or has so many early outs she could get the boot from the club - but ya know you can't lapse on the important medical/dental stuff and since they work the same time as school, I'm going to have to work something out!

3 More Weeks

Today marks 3 more weeks left of radiation. I fear that I won't be finished by August 15th cause I noticed this weekend that my chest has gotten a lot darker and the skin is beginning to peel. I won't get to see the doctor till tomorrow - unless the radiation tech takes one look at me and send me to the doctor instead of the machine.
I'm not BADLY burned, but I am rather dark. It worries me because the worse it gets, the longer I may have to wait to finish reconstruction - that and I have heard stories about the radiated skin being unusable for reconstruction with implants and that donor skin may have to be used from another area of my body. Which on one hand is fine with me - use all my stomach muscle, tissue and fat needed so I get the benefit of a tummy tuck out of it.....but on the other hand, then I will have multiple incision areas, and I'm not sure if I want to be in all that pain. But for now one step at a time, which means lathering on the lotion several times through-out the day.

Also in 3 weeks Natalie starts school. I cannot believe school starts in mid-August. I thought it would be closer to the end of August. It kind of sucks for her since today she started a week long reading camp at school, but it's only half days - but she just came home all excited about her reading group and informed me she doesn't have to wear her uniforms this week......great, so now I have to find 4 appropriate outfits to sit out for the remainder of the week, after I just prepped her uniforms!

Ruben is in St. Louis for the week attending some training classes. it sucks to me that he got to go and we're stuck here because of my radiation - since I am after all from just across the river. It would have been nice to go "home" and show Natalie all the cool things like the the Arch and my favorite parks, museums, and the zoo. But Ruben wouldn't have been able to enjoy any of it as he would've been stuck in class all day. Maybe we'll head up there for Thanksgiving or something......of course that all depends on if gas prices drop some and my treatment - which by the way is time to go get ready for. I say hopefully I'll get a week off since I'm peeling, but I really don't want to prolong any treatments unless it is absolutely necessary!

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Ah Sunday, the day of rest - with exceptions to doing the laundry of course. Things at El Casa De Navarro are usually pretty chill on Sunday. We watch a little TV, rest, and prepare for the week ahead. As school's end is nearing, Natalie has something going on every day. Tomorrow she has a Saints Training Camp day at school, then a beach day, Disney day, 50's day, then year book signing day. So we had fun picking out her clothes for each day, as she normally wears uniforms to school, but doesn't have to next week.
Also, some much needed rest was in order for today as yesterday she spent half the day swimming with her friends - because of which we are both a little red in spots. After she was done and had taken a bath, we decided to head out to do a lil ' shopping and have dinner out. We drove the 35+ miles to Houma instead of driving the other way into town. We had an excellent dinner at Olive Garden - and though I probably shouldn't have (cause surgery is coming up), I had a VERY delish Italian Margarita! It was very good! I looked it up on line and this is what I found:
According to the menu, the Italian Margarita is made with Sauza Gold Tequila and Triple Sec. It's served on the rocks and with a shot of DiSaronno Amaretto on the side.
On the rim: Orange-flavored sugar, one orange wedge and one lime wedge. I believe it also has a bit of limeade and orange juice in it. I've never had Amaretto and it was so very good. Instead of a harsh shot like Tequila, it was pretty sweet. I definitely suggest trying it next time you eat there!
After dinner we ran into Academy Sports and bought Nat some pool items - she wanted flippers like some of the other kids have. She also got a new kick board, and a cute pair of Sketcher shoes that are made out of a material much like Crocs. We spent so much time in there looking around for new darts and stuff that we were unable to make it to Sam's Club before they closed. So on the way home we had to hit up a grocery store to stock up on some snack items and usual necessities.
I have so many things swirling around my head the I want to make sure I include in this post! LOL! Let's see, first I'm happy to say I am once again acne free. Yay! I've finally found something that I think helps a lot. Clean & Clear Advantage Oil Free Moisturizer. I used to not be able to moisturize cause I was afraid it would create more acne - and now that I am 34 it seriously hit me that I'm getting old and it's time to take preventative measure against wrinkles. This lotion contains a bit of Salicylic Acid, so it helps prevent blemishes as it moisturizes. Of course the Levaquin antibiotics the doc gave me helped REALLY knock out this last break-out and fast too!
Also I wanted to elaborate on my last post about women. It seems I just always attract *those* types of women that cause problems or are just plain mean into my life. Sometimes it's a cashier at the store that's having a rough day and takes it out on you, sometimes it's people you cross paths with doing errands, or sometimes it's people that find my blog or other "homes" and approach me cause we have a common bond such as cancer or scrapbooking, where we've lived or past occupations. One day I ran into this much older women in an elevator, who so rudely asked me what's wrong with your face. The tone was less than concerning or friendly. It took all I had to bite my tongue and not say nothing, what's wrong with yours. I understand that my acne can look bad, but come on people! It's just plain rude to point it out or make remarks about it. I hate it and how it makes me look - which is why I often hang at home till it clears up. But beings as mine is always stressed induced or possibly a side effect of my meds, it's hard to keep my skin clean and clear and under control. Believe me, I've tried!
And the last topic up for discussion. As most of you know, since my recent diagnosis of recurrent breast cancer earlier this year, I've tried hard to re-gain my faith. I am not a religious person by any means - and no, I am not claiming to be born again or to have found God. It's just since the cancer has come back I've tried really hard to be consistent with praying. I figure that there are so many others out there praying for me that I should at least be praying for myself too. I've struggled a bit with this, as I said I'm not really religious. I asked Ruben for help or guidance, but he was unable as he still prays in Spanish as that is how he was taught. I already receive The Daily Word (both email & booklet - a co-worker of Ruben's sent us a subscription when she heard the cancer came back.) Well the other day I came across some of my old belongings. It's really quite odd because of the story behind it. It had been back in like 2002 when I had just transferred jobs, prior to just having my 3rd miscarriage. I had received an item in the mail from the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows that is in Belleville, IL - near where I had grown up. The funny thing is I haven't been there since I was a kid, and they knew my current last name, and where we had lived at that time. What they had sent me was a card. A card that is a prayer for healing. I had hung on to it at the time because I thought it had an eerie significance. And finding it again after all this time just drives home that point. As I sit here struggling with how to "pray" or ask for help, here is this card that inside reads:
O 'Mother of Mercy, healer of the sick, look with mercy on me and comfort me in my time of trouble.
Pretty fitting right? Well the other side reads:
Dear and blessed Lady of Lourdes, you bathe all in your radiant light, and soothe the suffering with healing waters of the spring you revealed to St. Bernadette. Though I am far from your sacred grotto, look with compassion upon me. See my need for your healing love. See how my body fails me. See how troubled is my soul. I ask you humbly not only for healing, Mother Immaculate, but to wash away my doubts and misgivings, to solidify my faith, to open my heart to you healing love, and the love of your Son, thus to see that this suffering, which now seems overwhelming, may soon be healed.
Tell me, coincidence or not? I may lack faith, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I think this prayer card is just what I was looking for in my quest of "how". Although it doesn't cover everything, it is a very good start. Usually I just ask for all my family, friends, and loved ones to be looked over and ask that they all have health and happiness, but beyond that I struggled. This is very specific for my needs of healing, as I am so done with this cancer thing. I just wish it was done with me! Don't worry, I'm in no danger of becoming overly religious. I just wanted to share that with you. It's weird how things work sometimes! Have you ever had anything like that happen to you? I would love to hear about it!
Well it's about time to wrap this puppy up. So the plan for this week is that on the 20th I get my MRI and I should most likely know more sometime Wednesday. Then the 22nd is the day of my surgery. At least this time I have a much better feeling about it. I'm telling ya, you should always listen to your gut feeling. I'm actually glad things worked out the way they did. I feel more confident with this surgeon and she clearly has no problems involving my other doctors as they have all been in touch with each other, which bottom line means better care for me. Don't you agree? Hope y'all had as good of a weekend as I did. I will keep you posted as I get info this week!

Back to School

Yup, it's an early day for me, the beginning of many. I don't know how I'm going to do it when I can't even get a handle on this insomnia. I'm so sleep deprived, I think I may need to take a nap. It's going to take at least a week to get back into this routine. Summer went by so fast! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Natalie is back in school. It gives me some quiet time around here to get things done. She's excited as well. We took her to school for her first day, so we could meet her teacher, drop off supplies, and verify things. Natalie was excited to find out that several of her previous classmates were in her new class. I'm glad she'll have that comfort of familiarity in her new surroundings. All in all, this morning went off without a hitch. I'm sure come 4:00 she'll have so much to tell me, she won't be able to contain herself.

Yesterday I had another follow up appointment with my plastic surgeon. While my wound is looking nice, it seems that he won't be sewing it closed anytime soon. He told me he wanted to wait 2 weeks before seeing me again. In the meantime we're to continue cleaning it with saline, applying the green ointment, and packing it with gauze so that it will keep draining. All this was fine and dandy until about 3:00 this morning when I noticed a big wet spot on my shirt. Sure enough I leaked right through it all. Beings the middle of the night I didn't want to awake Ruben to change the dressings, so I took matters into my own hands. Much to my dismay I learned that it was not an easy task by any means. I think I used half a roll of tape just to hold the bandage in place. So here I am, another two weeks with this big, nasty hole in me.

Till next time - Be safe out there!