Back on the patch.

The last few days I haven't been feeling too well. As I said in a post below, I blew chunks pretty bad, and it really made me mad cause I had just eaten my Godiva chocolate covered strawberries a bit earlier that I had gotten for my birthday. When you pay $6 a strawberry, it's quite upsetting to end up throwing them up instead of enjoying them in your belly = ). Even though I had gotten sick, I don't think the berries had anything to do with it, as the night before I had been feeling sick to my stomach - and since then, I still have been feeling ill even though I haven't had the urge to purge. I've also noticed that I'm having major internal temperature control problems. One minute I'm freezing cold, the next I'm soaking wet from sweat. Ruben thinks maybe I have a bug again, but just in case it's not that and I'm experiencing hot flashes again, I've pulled out my old blood pressure patches and am now wearing one. I haven't had any hot flashes in about a year, and if I have, they have been VERY mild, whatever it is that I am having now I feel like I need to shower every hour, as I'm afraid I might stink from sweating so bad. Unfortunately due to my cancer, I cannot have hormone therapy to properly relieve my menopause symptoms, and will likely suffer off and on again for the rest of my life. I just hope that Ruben is right and it is a bug, however now that I have some fresh berries as yesterday was our anniversary, I am praying to keep them down this time!

And so it begins.....

So yesterday I met with my new Plastic Surgeon. Great guy. Somehow I managed to feel pretty comfortable with him, while lying there on the table, robe open, my 1 breast flopped to the side, and my fat roll(s) out in the open with no where to hide. First he wants me to go see this other breast surgeon and probably have a mammogram done. Together they plan on writing a letter to my insurance to get approval to remove my current breast and replace it with an implant. His plan is for them to do the mastectomy/reconstruction together. Then he will go on by himself and insert a tissue expander underneath the muscle on the right side. After feeling the area, he's pretty sure that my previous doctor had to cut the muscle there, and says he may have to bring a piece of muscle around from my back. It will take about 8 to 12 weeks of weekly injections for the expander to stretch my skin and increase by at least 50%. At which time he will pull that expander out and replace it with an implant. Since all of this may coincide with my trip to Disney, he said we can put off the final surgery till after, but at least I will be going while my fake boob stays here. No more worrying about it floating off and scaring the kiddies! He doesn't think getting approval for the mastectomy will be a problem given my history and my currently lumpy breast tissue. He told me the only two things that may pose a problem will be if my muscle was cut (in which he said the fix would be to take a piece of back muscle) and the nipple on my other breast dying from lack of blood, which he said would have to be removed if that occurs. both are fine with me. I just want this done and over with, so I can close this chapter of my life. I explained to him that I am not interested in having Pam Anderson implants. I do not want my breast to be under my chin, nor do I want a uni-boob. However, I do have the concern that at one time I used to be a D cup, then after losing 90 lbs. I went down to a C cup - and while I have re-gained a little bit of weight these past 6 months, my goal is to lose another 50 - 60 lbs. I don't want to be stick thin, but I would like my body back, and it is very important to me that while my weight may fluctuate, that I maintain proportionate sizing. I want to remain a very full C cup. Ruben asked why the hell I chose that, why not push for a D, so I said that maybe I would talk to the doctor about it again. Maybe be a very full C/small D cup. I don't want to end up top heavy, but I used to have a nice rack and I'll be damned if I don't get it back. Then again, I have enough back problems as it is! So I go see this other doctor on the 8th, and once they obtain approval, we will proceed with at least the initial surgery. He even told me since I have such horrible veins, and I will be looking at multiple surgeries, he plans on suggesting that I get a usable port put back in. I agreed with him, just cause I hate being stuck 5 times trying to start an IV, but then again as I feel the painful scar over my left breast, I am reminded of my last port and how much it hurt and still hurts to this day. I guess since I only had it in for about 4 months, the scar tissue never healed before they re-cut it and removed it. So now I have excess scar tissue that will never heal, and a painful memory of having it removed in a doctors office which I WILL NEVER DO AGAIN! Matter of fact, somewhere around here, I still have the port they cut out of me. It was a big sucker, about the size of a 50 cent piece. I don't look forward to having another one put in as that will be one more procedure I will have to have done, but if it saves me an arm full of bruises on several other occasions, then I am all for it.
So not only is the ball now set in motion, but I have also said out loud to a doctor my wishes for removing my other breast, and unless the insurance company denies the procedure, there is no turning back now and changing my mind! Right now so I don't seesaw on the idea, I keep reminding myself that I have always said that if I were to ever get implants that I would rather get 2 than 1, that I don't want 1 hard Carmen Electra boob and one normal soft breast. So keep your fingers crossed that this all goes smoothly this time!

7 years! Where did the time go?

On this day 7 long, long, years ago, Ruben and I married before a small gathering of family and friends at a little chapel known as The Special Memory Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Now obviously since we have a 7 year old daughter we have been together far longer than just the 7 married years, but now thinking about that day, it seems like 7 years has been an eternity! Also, thinking of 7 years reminds me of the term 7 year itch. I hope that no such thing exist, as marriage itself isn't easy. I always say that even the happiest of marriages is a work in progress, but throw in the potential for relationship disaster based on infidelity, and work in progress would take on a whole new meaning. I myself have no desire what-so-ever to ever be with anyone other than my husband, but given the hardship of the last few years, I have repeatedly told him that I wouldn't care if he had an affair as long as I never found out about it. I know that my condition has made not only our marriage more difficult, but living with me even more extremely difficult. How can you get everything you need from someone who is constantly a hormone deprived bitch that only has one breast? I would understand his need to seek solace with someone else. I just would never want to know about it. Luckily, I have a man who would never do that to me, who is in it for the long haul, through thick and thin - and for that I am eternally grateful. Not only did I marry my best friend, but I married a wonderful man, who loves me more than anything, and for that, I could not ask for anything more. Despite the day, we have no plans really for celebrating. Last night we had some PF Changs for dinner, and I also picked up some small gifts after I met with my new pain doctor. Basically our big presents aren't here yet, so we both have Guess men and women's colognes for now. Our big presents consist of a new HP laptop for me, although there's really nothing wrong with the one I've got - it's just that the internal wireless card sucks! I also went ahead and broke down and let Ruben get his new TV. It's a 57" wide screen Mitsubishi 1080p HDTV and stand. That TV will now go into the family room, and our other 48" wide screen will go into his game room. Personally, I wouldn't mind a bigger TV than the 32" we have in the bedroom, but trying to get that nearly 400 lb. TV up the stairs was murder! It's an older Sony tube TV, so that's why it weighs a freaken' ton! Anyway though, today for our anniversary, I get the great pleasure of being felt up by another man as I have an appointment today to meet with my plastic surgeon. I'm scared. I hate the thought, the anxiety, of going through breast reconstruction again. Yesterday I met with my new pain management doctor. He seemed like a pretty nice guy. He decided he doesn't want to change any of my meds now. He'd like for me to start exercising my arm once again, cut back on caffeine, and see if the two help any with my insomnia, stress, or anxiety. He doesn't really care for the anxiety medication I take, but life without it or something for anxiety will be a living hell. You know sometimes I think that even if cancer doesn't kill me, it still will be the death of me per say. I think and worry so much about it coming back, that I think my anxiety is eating away at me and making me sick.....it would certain explain why I've been having nausea and why I barely made it to the bathroom yesterday before blowing chunks all over the tile, sink, and toilet.....I'm just glad I held it long enough to avoid the carpet!
Hope the rest of you are feeling better and have a great day!

Another Day.

Another year, another birthday. Like many, after you hit a certain age, you'd just like to forget, to stop aging, and to just count it as another day - but your body disagrees with you, it knows how old you are, exactly how old you are, and it makes sure to remind you!
I woke up this morning feeling tired and crappy. Wasn't sure if it was the whole getting up at 7:00 am everyday thing catching up with me, or the not sleeping well the past 3 nights cause Ruben had been out of town. In any case, I laid in bed, barely awake, hardly able to open my sore, puffy, itchy eyes. In fact, my whole face was red, itchy and swollen! Ruben reminded me of the day by saying Happy Birthday. Then it hit me. The itchiness, the sleepless nights - it was all anxiety because I turn 33 today. Watching American Idol last night with Ruben (I DVR'd it from Wed. night) we had seen this nice looking man on there and was shocked to find out he was only 15, and I said holy shit, I'm old enough to be his mom! For the first time in my life a statement like that could actually apply to me, which only made me feel older, naturally! WOW! Now I really do want to forget about this day! It's bad enough that my license expires today and I cannot find my birth certificate that I need in order to get a new one in Louisiana. So since I cannot renew my license for Nevada over the phone, and I can't get my birth certificate from Illinois over the phone and have no relatives living there, I have to fill out a form, mail it there, and wait for them to send it back to me in order to get another copy. Let's just hope I don't get pulled over between now and then!
But as for today goes, it's just another day for me. I got a a Nintendo DS, which is actually more than what I had wanted for my birthday. I don't want a cake or anything, just maybe either some Godiva chocolate covered strawberries or some beignets from Cafe Du Monde - but I don't know if we're going to drive across the river today to go to the mall or not, so we'll see. Thanks for all the birthday wishes - hope you all have a wonderful day!

Where do I begin?

It's been awhile since my last post. I'm up to my eyeballs in boxes, and haven't had a shower all weekend! The movers came on Tuesday and brought 2 trucks FULL of boxes. Despite crushed boxes, belongings, and a missing dresser, we were overjoyed to finally have our beloved cal-king back. And yes, I did say missing dresser. We don't quite understand how they lost a dresser! Luckily it was neither the one to our bedroom set, or Natalie's. However it was to be the dresser for our guest room, and had been the hutch/changing table from when Natalie was a baby. Oh, we're also pretty sure that Ruben got jacked for his PSP, as we've been unable to locate it anywhere!
As for one of the crushed boxes, it so happened to turn out to be a box of scrap paper. I am livid. The paper is warped, bent and folded. If it were just a few pieces I'd be fine, but seeing as it was a full box of nearly 2,000+ sheets, I am furious because to the moving company they are going to see "just" paper, but to me that's at least $1000!
And as if this alone weren't bad enough, my brand new washer and dryer hardly fits as they are over-sized, and Ruben broke off the copper pipe half way down the wall trying to adjust the hoses and such. So that is why we've had the water turned off all weekend, so we wouldn't flood the inside of the wall or cause mold and water damage. Luckily the plumber is here now fixing the mess all for the bargain price of $300! But it will so be worth it just to shower and do laundry, not to mention flush the toilets!
Today was a big day for Natalie, she returned to school after months of learning at home. She's very excited. I spent most of the weekend running around like a mad woman trying to find her school uniforms. Can't wait till 4:00 to see her get off the bus and find out how her 1st day was!
Ruben will be out of town for the rest of the week. I can't believe he won't be here for my birthday! Not that it matters much, it's just another day to me, however I did get a gift, and I got it early. No, I didn't get any jewelry this year - I'm running out of things I want! But I did get a Nintendo DS. I know, it sounds so childish, but Natalie got one for her birthday, and she's gotten me hooked on playing Nintendogs. So now that I have one version (Dalmations Limited Edition), and she has another (Labs), we can play together wirelessly. She gets a kick out of it, it's fun, a great way for me to relieve some stress and also exercise my hand - plus I also got Brain Age and Big Brain Academy to boost my brain that feels like mush since chemo!
Next week I have an appointment to see a plastic surgeon. I'm not really looking forward to that. I was thinking I wanted to get it all taken care of before going to Disney World in May, but Ruben seems to think that hitting Disney shortly after having breast reconstruction surgery will be a big no-no. He thinks I will be in too much pain to enjoy anything, and will ruin the trip for Natalie - but my thing is that we will be going to the water park too, and while I'm not a big fan of bathing suits, I still don't want to get in in a shirt and shorts with my fake boob. It would be my luck that the water would wash it loose and some kid would find it floating in the pool somewhere. What a nightmare that would be!
Anywho, I'm off to finish some unpacking. Got lots more to do, and zero motivation. I'm afraid to find what else they smashed up.
Oh, I almost forgot. I don't want to hear no shit about the freaken Bears beating the Saints. I think it's bullshit that they re-sodded the field prior to a playoff game. If they had played here in the Dome, no one would have been slipping around and could have held on to the ball, as it's nice and dry in the Dome. But at least the Patriots aren't going to the Superbowl again. I for one am sick and tired of them. They've won 3 out of the last 5 Superbowls! It was nice to see the Colts score, and get a turnover before the Patriots had a chance to score another touchdown and win! Other than the Saints, I can't think of anyone other than Manning who deserves to go to the Bowl more.
Oh, we also have some newbies that just moved into town. Brangelina bought a house in the French Quarter. Personally I would have rather seen them take their $3,750, 000 and donate it to NOLA Habitat for Humanity. $3.75 million could have built a lot of homes for people displaced during Katrina. Besides, it sounds as though Angelina could use the positive publicity right now......
If you want to see the property they bought you can check it out here.

Blog Challenge

1. I've come to realize that my life is... never going to be easy and I MUST take care of my health!
2. I am listening to... my daughter playing and traffic outside.
3. I talk... to my dog a lot, and have come to realize that all the phone calls from my mom that used to annoy me, I now miss terribly now that she is gone.
4. I love... my life despite all the recent trials and tribulations.
5. My best friends... know that I would DO ANYTHING for them.
6. Love is... putting up with me on a daily basis.
7. Somewhere, someone is thinking... I love and miss them.
8. I'll always ... be worried about cancer returning.
9. The last time I cried was because... I was being stuck repeatedly for an IV.
10. My cell phone... is always on.
11. Before I go to bed... I take my meds, go to the bathroom, and kiss my daughter goodnight.
12. Right now I am thinking about... how much I can't wait to move into our house.
13. Today I... was stranded at home with no Durango, as my hubby took his Ram to be serviced before the warranty ran out.
14. Tonight I will... counting one less day till I get to sleep in my old bed.
15. Tomorrow I will be... meeting an Electrician to have repairs made to our breaker box..

Thanks, Cynthia, for coming up with this challenge!

Once again, it's all coming together!

Yesterday not only did we got our re-imbursement check (thank god!), the guys began installing the tile in our house. At least one bathroom should be finished today, and they also started laying the carpet. We still have to finish up some painting, but our fence is now all done. Now we just need to find a place to buy a ton of dirt, so we can level out the yard, fill in the gap under the fence, and hopefully prevent some of the flooding we get in our yard. The movers will be delivering our things on the 16th and the cable company comes on the 18th. I can't wait to have my bed back, along with the rest of my stuff!

Also today, my sister and I both booked our vacations for Disney World. May 1st thru 8th. It's going to be so much fun, we bought park hopper tickets that also include entrance to the water parks. We can't wait for all the excitement. This will be the first time for us to actually meet my newest nephew Matthew, who turns 1 next month. Man how time flies. But what's really going to be great is to spend a vacation with my family from Hawaii. Now I just have to find someone to care for our dog. I just hate the idea of leaving her, but since she's not allowed at the hotel, there's no sense in bringing her and paying for boarding there. It breaks my heart to leave her, but hopefully we'll get someone to care for her as much as we do.

How about them 'Boys?

Sorry Lora, but your 'Boys ate it. No more Superbowl dreams for them. One muffled snap, and on go the Seahawks. I'm sure my brother Billy feels your pain as he's a big Cowboys fan too. On our end, we're really hoping the Giants will win today, so we can play the Seahawks next week. We really don't want to end up playing Eagles. I kinda wish now that we had bought those Playoff tickets for next weekend. Regardless of who will play, it will be a great day at the Dome!

My big ol' nappy 'fro

I know I posted a picture below of my new look, but since it rains constantly and there is so much damn humidity in the air here, I can never wear it straight for longer than 1 hour. So here I am with all this nasty curly hair, and I'm still trying to figure out if I should shave my head again (partially) or just ride out this nightmare and let it grow more. Patience is a virtue I do not have, unfortunately.

Thing is though, for as long as I live here I will have a 'fro, so it's stay short and shaved forever, or grow long and wear curly forever - Either way, it's a curse!

Bye Week

Tomorrow the Saints have a bye week, if I'm not mistaken, it's all thanks to Dallas (sorry Lora!). Having a bye week is great news, we really need the rest for the Superbowl. So after tomorrow, there's only 2 more weeks to Superbowl. Let's just hope we win the games to make it there!

I think this might be the first Superbowl I've been excited about since I got married on Superbowl Sunday on January 30th, 2000 (in which the Rams won!)

I can hear the chants now.......
Who dat say they gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat, Who dat?
Come on ya'll we need to yell a little louder!

(oh yeah, if you get the chance, check out the localized versions of Baby Boy's - This is the Way We Live - New Orleans Version, or local band Ghost + Birdfinger who recorded Who Dat 2006 - great music, for a great town!)

Also, in the news -
The Associated Press today named Saints Head Coach Sean Payton as Coach of the Year, the most prestigious award a head coach can garner. AWESOME!

YAAAAAY! What a GREAT YEAR for NOLA!

Hospitals

Oh how I hate them!

When I said crappy, I didn't mean LITERALLY!

Yesterday I ended up taking a visit to the local Emergency Room at Tulane. I have to say that hospital is quite dirty and slow as all hell! I'm guessing Tulane is like the "county" hospital. I would have much rather gone to Oscher across the street, but I didn't see them on our plan. In any case, I woke up yesterday feeling extremely ill, and in major pain! My right side hurt so bad, it felt like a broke hip or something - not to mention how much my stomach hurt. I thought that maybe I had the stomach flu, plus being out of pain meds put me in such a painful, uncomfortable state. So off we went to the ER, there wasn't really anyone there - but the wait took sooooooooo long. Once they FINALLY called me back, it was only the beginning of an even longer wait. First, when the doctor heard my symptoms, she said that since I haven't been on morphine for 5 days that my body was detoxing, and that detox resembles the flu - you feel like you've been hit by a truck (I had the chills and all too). But she also had concern that it might be acute appendicitis, because of the area that hurt. My blood test came back with really high White Blood Cells count - which I had higher counts when I went through chemo too, but this damn doctor kept pushing that it could still be appendicitis. So they made me drink 2 large 22 oz. cups of the nastiest tasting shit I've ever drank over a course of an hour, then wait another hour and do a CT Scan. They gave me a shot of what they said was morphine, but if it was it was not long acting, they also gave me phenergen, so I wouldn't throw up the crap they made me drink. After waiting another hour, they finally take me back to get my scan, then I have to wait another hour for the results - but this time, I'm back in pain and getting extremely agitated over the whole process. Needless to say, my appendix is fine. But if you know me, you know I don't take IV's well. It's hard when you've been reduced to only having one available arm and having HORRIBLE veins. The damn snooty ass nurse had to stick me 3 times just to get it in, and even then it still didn't flow right. I still don't even understand the purpose of the IV, because they didn't even have me finish the bag of sodium chloride, I used less than half. After being there for nearly 9 hours, and paying $100, I was finally released with a RX for a very mild pain med, so I still feel like I've been hit by a truck, and yes I still have the stomach bug. Which as it turns out really was/is a stomach bug, as my daughter showed the same signs shortly after arriving home. So here I am, all bruised with tape marks, still in major discomfort, unable to go out to our house to help paint today. Ruben went ahead and took Natalie and Lexie with him, and once there was surprised to find that our fence was already more than half up. I didn't even know they began working on it yet. I can't believe they are installing it in the rain! All I can say is I sure hope that our reimbursement check for selling and buying a house comes on Monday, because starting next week, I am going to owe a whole lotta money to the fence company ( NOLAFENCE.COM ) and to the carpet company. But more importantly, I just hope that I am feeling better before then! As you can see, they busted the vein in my wrist. Damn IV's, I HATE THEM!

What a crappy day for a birthday!

Today my daughter turned 7. I can't believe it - actually I can't believe so far that either of us have lived this long. Today was all her call, so we spent the day at the movies. The weather was horrible out, my camera actually kept fogging up! It was overcast and raining, yet muggy and warm - UGH! So first we saw Night At The Museam. It was pretty good, had a good laugh, and not really scary or anything. Then we saw Eragon - gotta say this one really took some time to get into the whole story, and she was scared during quite a few scenes - it also appears there will be a sequel given the way they left off. So anyway, she got all hopped up on soda, popcorn, and M&M's. It's not like the theatre has the best food, so what do you expect? Afterwards we went home to find our 3rd airbed was flat and had to go buy a new one. Man I cannot wait to get my nice comfy cal king bed back! My back reallllllly misses it. So once home we had ice cream cake and let her have her gifts. She got a new Nintendo DS....now she has a Gamecube, a Gameboy SP, a Wii, and now a DS....talk about spoiled, but I guess like mother like daughter?!? She also got lots of games for all 3 (she just got the Wii for xmas), and I bought her this really nice 14kt gold tiara crown Disney Princess ring. I'll post some pictures below.
Tomorrow we'll be going back to our house to resume painting. It's slowly progressing - I think because I painted parts of Natalie's room twice. We painted it all this Disney Princess pink, and it was sickening. Like looking at Pepto Bismol everywhere, so I got some Disney purple paint and did some off walls. Getting the wallpaper off has been some of the hardest work - in some places it is stuck on good, and others I peeled up with no steam or chemicals - but painting the rest of the rooms the rich brown I chose has proven to be difficult, as you want many coats to make sure it looks really good. So we have to hurry up and finish what we can this weekend cause on the 12th the carpet and tile goes in, then the fence goes up - that should shock the neighbors.....they all have open yards, why? I don't want to see my neighbor, we don't want to be grilling and have them walk up and be like hey neighbor. Anyway, looks like we won't be all in till almost the end of the month, it's still a month early from our lease, but hopefully they won't complain.
So here they are, enjoy the pix. Hope your weekend isn't as wet as ours is going to be!

This is the Way We Live Video - Saints Version

Love dem Saints, and this kid (who ever he is) makes this video sooooo cute! Hope dem Saints go all the way to da Superbowl!

Is there hope for a better tomorrow?

Here it is just the 2nd day into the new year and I'm already questioning if 2007 will be any better than 2006. Ruben received word today that a good friend that he worked with in the Vegas office is dying of cancer - as if that's not enough to bring about another round of cancer-phobia, yesterday we took the day off from painting to relax at home and watch some movies. One of the movies I caught on HBO on Demand happened to be The Family Stone. At first it turned out to be somewhat funny - An uptight, conservative, businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family's annual Christmas celebration and finds that she's a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life. Basically the family hates her, and she calls her sister to come join her at the inn. It later plays out that the mother is ill, and while they never really say what it is, they just mention she is "sick again" and "worse than before" and in one scene they flash a scar over her breast. As the movie ends, the uptight woman is ends up with the pot-head brother and her ex ends up with her sister, and it's Christmas again, but Mom is gone.....and that was the real kicker for me. I'm always constantly reminded of the risk of my own mortality from breast cancer and it scares the shit out of me....then add to it that my own Mother only lived to 60 and I sometimes think or feel like I only have a little more than 27 years left, and I'm so terrified by that thought. I don't want to die too young, and I don't want to grow too old. All of this really has me wondering, it's been so long since I've been to the oncologist, I just can't help but to think, what if it has come back? I freak out at every little bump I feel, and I'm at the point where I can't tell a bump from a lump and cannot remember what it originally felt like - but what if it isn't even in my breast, what if it somehow has come back and is now in my lungs or liver - which would be the first place it would spread - how would I ever know? It's not like I can feel a lump there. Maybe I'm just being a major hypochondriac, but I feel that when dealing with cancer, you've always got to be on your toes so it can be diagnosed as soon as possible if you want any chance at making a recovery. So all of this has lead me to one decision - I have to have my other breast removed. I think it's the only way I will get any piece of mind. So that's my big to do this year. As soon as we move in to our new house later this month, my top priority will be seeing a plastic surgeon to have it removed and discuss reconstruction. I also need to get in with an oncologist, and a pain management doctor again......and get back on track to losing weight. This year I have regained about 15 lbs. of the 90 lbs. I lost - just enough to make my pants feel uncomfortable, and while I have tried my usual tactics, they haven't worked and I'm being told it's because of my lack of hormones now. Without hormones it will be increasingly difficult for me to lose any weight. Thank goodness I get back my elliptical machine at the end of the month when we get our things out of storage! And hopefully I will get all those things before my license expires on my birthday (the 26th) cause my birth certificate is one of those items packed up and in storage and I need it to get a new driver's license! While we have lots on our to do list for our house in 2007, I have to make my health number one, cause I want to be here to celebrate many more New Year's.

On a side note, just 2 more days till my baby turns 7. I feel so old (24 days till I'm 33)!!!!! Also, that will mean in 28 days we'll celebrate 7 years of marriage (yes baby came first) although we've been together for a lot longer. It almost feels like a lifetime. Wow, the milestones we've made. I love you honey, I don't think I would be here today without you!

Reflections of 2006

All in all this year has been a fast and busy one. I feel like I haven't really been "home" all year - and when you really think about it, I haven't. Since the beginning of the year I've traveled back and forth from Elko to Vegas every other month or so for check ups with my doctor, in June when Natalie graduated kindergarten we went on vacation to Disney and San Diego, then traveled back to Vegas when my mom became deathly ill, I continued to stay in Vegas as my husband moved to Louisiana, then moved to Louisiana once the distance became too much to take, we lived in an apartment till our house finally sold at the end of November, bought a house mid December, painted and renovated all through Christmas, and New Years - the remodelling will most likely go on until mid January when we can finally have our things taken out of storage and delivered to us. Of course once again, it's been another year in and out of doctor's offices for me, yet I still have not had my reconstruction surgery done. Hopefully that will be something I will be able to have done in 2007. Christmas was a good one, although it didn't really seems like Christmas to me. Holidays just aren't the same once you've suffered a loss. Doesn't really matter anyway, it's more for my daughter, I have more than I could ever want or need - I just got new golf clubs, a craftrobo pro II, a new Sony Cybershot DSC-H5, a new iPod, and GPS. My daughter's birthday is coming up on the 4th, she will be 7, and it will be extremely hard for both of us without my mom. I can't even imagine what my birthday on the 26th will be like. I think putting 2006 behind me and moving on is the best thing for me. I'm looking forward to getting my scrapbooking room back and starting on some creative therapy, I think it will do my soul some good. I'm also planning on returning to playing golf now that we live in a golf community and Ruben bought me a new set of Hope clubs. Let's just hope that I can still swing them given my condition with the nerve damage in my elbow and the pain and numbness in my armpit and arm from my lymph nodes being removed. So far we have lots of plans for 2007. Not just for remodelling the house, but in February we have our first Mardi Gras, then this spring we are meeting my sister and her family (from Hawaii) at Disney World for a nice vacation, then later in the year we plan to head up to where I grew up near St. Louis, MO. Add surgery to that, Ruben's work schedule, Natalie's school schedule, and it will be another very busy year. I just hope it's a very healthy, happy year - for us and for all!

Christmas plans

What big plans do you have for Christmas and Christmas Eve?
I think we will be opening packages on the Eve and spending the whole week of Christmas painting the inside of our new house. We got an insane estimate of $9000 - which is $8000 more than the paint would cost, and about $5000 or $6000 more than I am willing to pay for paint! We need to hurry up and get the painting done so the carpet and tile can be installed - which we're getting for a bargain price of $10100! LOL. Guess that's the price you pay when you insist on having a bigger house. I knew with being close to 3700 square feet, it wouldn't be cheap, but there is so much more we want to do to this house. That's why I'll be offline all next week while we're painting day and night. Sounds like such fun doesn't it? Who else would like to give up their Christmas to help us paint? Not quite the same as Christmas past, but with no family here, and friends flying out for the holiday, it's just us and the house.
Wednesday while waiting to get estimates, we had fun being destructive and ripping off the old wallpaper. Of course I saved some just for my scrapbook. I will post some "work in progress" pictures as soon as I can, maybe even a few "after" pictures.
Hope you all have wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Public Apology

I have to apologize to everyone, including my dad about my previous rant below. While I'm still not thrilled with the idea that he might be dating, that's just because I am not ready for it, and have my own fears. In no way does any of it have to do with financial gain for myself - My husband and I are "sound" so to say. The only finances I worry about is that of my older brother who is handicapped, and does not earn or get enough money from Social Security to save for retirement, and sometimes doesn't handle his money in his best interest. Actually I'm more upset with my mother for not setting up some kind of trust for him, as he's been this way since birth. I'm sorry for the way I came across. I still have fears that ties between us could possibly be severed if he were to ever remarry. I worry because we are not blood relatives, we are only related by love and marriage - and as much as I worry about being displaced, it has absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with his happiness, because I do want him to be happy, and if another woman truly makes him happy, then I am happy for him.

Finally, a new look!

After much time, my hair has SLOWLY grown out to a point where I can blow dry it straight. My only problem is that there is too much humidity here to where it straight. It's been raining non-stop the last 2 days, and before that the temperatures were still nearing mid 70's. I really hate the nappy, frizzy, curls I've been cursed with. I even told Ruben I'm contemplating shaving my head short again. I can pull off a short shaved punk look, but I can't wear frizzy, curly hair. It drives me nuts if my hair isn't perfect. So should I be patient and let it grow longer and see how the curls go then, or should I grab the clippers?

Results from the game

It was a sad, sad day. I'm sure ya'll know we lost the game to the Redskins (by 1 freaken touchdown!!!), but became Division Champs all because both Atlanta & Carolina lost their respective games. So we still have a spot in the playoffs, but the title of Division Champs just isn't quite as sweet when we didn't actually earn the title by a win.

are YOU ready for some football?

I'm ready for some football. today's the big day! We leave in just over an hour to start the mad drive downtown to the Superdome to watch the Saints (HOPEFULLY!) kick the shit out of the Washington Redskins. If we manage this feat, then we'll clinch the division and go onto the playoffs! WOOHOO! This ought to be an awesome game. I've never been to a football game, so I'm really looking forward to buying a hat, a beer, some nachos, and definitely a foam finger! I'll be sure to get some pictures to share with you all, as my Santa Baby (Ruben) bought me a brand new Sony Digital Camera DSC-H5 that adapts to all my H1 lenses and such - so be sure to check back later for game day pics.
Oh, almost forgot the big news.......it's official! Friday we got the keys to our house. We are home owners agains! YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!

Times like this......

It's during times like this, getting ready to close on our house, the holiday season nearing, that make me really miss my family. My family is spread too far away with my sister in Hawaii, my brother(s) and in-laws all in Vegas, my (step)father in Mexico, and most of all the recent passing of my mother to heaven. It's not quite been 5 months since she passed on 7/20. First there was her anniversary to mourn, then my sister's birthday, then Halloween and Thanksgiving, but now that Christmas is approaching it is becoming increasingly more difficult.....or maybe it's not just the holiday season. Last night I got an email from my (step)dad that had me broken down in tears. The thought has crossed my mind before, and each time before just thinking about it not only hurt, but made me ill, but now my thoughts were a reality. My (step)dad has began dating again, and while I don't know the details of it, and I don't want to know the details of it, it breaks my heart to know it. Maybe my mom and him had discussed it before her death and this is what she wanted, or maybe he is ready to move on - only he would be the one to really know if after less than 5 months if he's really ready to move on. All I know is that I'm not ready! All I can think about is that one day he'll remarry and all of us step kids will be out of the picture. Who then will help care financially for my brother Billy? The plan was that in the event of my parents death their estate was to be split between all of the kids - his 2 kids, and my mom's 4 kids. While we've already gotten jewelry and other items that she wanted us to have, everything else went to my (step)dad, then when he passes his estate will be split among the 6 of us - but if he remarries, that will screw up the equation as the house he owns in Mexico (that was bought with my mother) and all the savings and insurance money from my mother's insurance and his insurance, will then go to his wife - and my mom's 4 kids will get screwed out of everything....not like there's much to begin with anyway, but it's the point that counts. I don't want to be cut out of someones life, someone that I have considered my father for more than half my life, the only man I actually consider to be my father. I just don't want my mother or her kids to be forgotten and I am scared to death, because if I can't handle this news without a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes at 32, how is my 6 year old daughter going to feel about grandma being replaced?
I miss you mom, I wish you were here - I'd give anything for you to be here!

Pictures

Gave up on the fact that the damn pictures I just had printed won't fit within the cards I had bought for Christmas. I had the Natalie and Santa photo printed for all to see along with one self pic taken at the park. Wanted to send it out for those who haven't seen me since my hair grew back into the afro-bush that it is. I really hate this curly, frizzy, un-manageable state that it is in. Too short to blow dry straight and style, too long to curl and style - besides, I hate using bottles of hairspray to mold it, so for now I let the fro' grow and wear headbands to hold it back out of my face. I hate it, but it's easy and natural. Wish I had my old hair back, or my hubby would approve the shaven head look full time. Anyway, here's our "holiday" family photo, another self taken pic of our squished faces, and one from The Grand Canyon. Enjoy!

Everything's coming together

despite a few glitches. We've managed to get all our Christmas shopping done. I sent out the package to my sister today. I have all of our Christmas cards ready, however I made a huge error in judgement. I forgot that I had bought an odd sized card this year, and had some 4x6 picture printed for them. We haven't done formal family photos in a few years, instead we've been taking our own. This year I was just going to send out the picture of Natalie and Santa that is posted below, and a self portrait taken of the three of us at a park this fall to just a few family members....but, as I stated, I bought odd sized cards this year and 4x6 photos will not fit into the envelope. Oh well, it happens. I'll just have to buy some card envelopes from Office Depot and send them out separately. But overall, I think the best news is that everything with our house is back on track, and moving along. Our agent had an electrician inspect the house regarding the improper wiring, and to our surprise we found that there will be no holes in the walls or the tearing up of anything in order to fix the problem. Instead, he's just going to replace the breaker switch at the box, so in the event there is an overload on those wires, the breaker switch will trip and prevent any electrical fires. All for the affordable price of $400. A bargain I must say. I'm so glad it's not going to be quite as bad of a headache as I expected. Now we just need to finish escrow, and life will be grand. In fact, Ruben already has the contractor's calling him asking if he's ready for paint and such.
Speaking of paint, I think I have picked up every sample palette from every store, yet we have been unable to chose a color scheme from the paint chips. Oddly though, I was looking through the massive stash of scrap supplies I've purchased since leaving the old house in June, and found the perfect combination. How about that? Scrap paper has inspired the color scheme for my house! Now we already had some basic colors in mind, colors that we're taken from our kokopelli bath & bedding set. These basic colors seems to run the theme for much of the house. Plum purple, Sagish-Aqua color, and Golden Tan, but we've never really seen them all together other than on our comforter itself, that is until I saw these papers. The green is a little off, but the color you see in the flowers will be accent colors while the actual background color, which I can only describe as Butter? would be the main wall colors, or maybe we'll go with the darker one and do the Golden Tan. Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think, and remember that these pictures don't really represent the true colors of the items as seen in person.

All I want for Christmas is....

our house! After having the home inspection and a termite inspection, we ran into a few problems - some rather small, some not so much. First off there's a small patch of about 10 little holes in a small area on the ceiling that had been caused by termites, but luckily we have gotten the seller to agree to pay for treatment. Ruben will only need to make some minor repairs to patch up the spots. However, the home inspector had found a few items that he thought may need attention brought to them for preventive maintenance reasons, and one thing that "could" potentially be threatening if not corrected. Apparently some of the wiring in the house is too small, and must be re-wired from the breaker box, to where-ever the wiring leads. If left the way it is, and somehow overloaded, it could pose as a fire hazard. The seller's do not want to take the time to have it fixed, so they are turning to us for a dollar amount as to how much we want in order to have it fixed our self, but we have no way of estimating such an item - a licensed electrician would only know, and then there would be the expense of restoring the walls and such back to their original state. So for the time being, our agent is looking into having a professional get an estimate, but at this rate it appears we will not be able to close on time on the 15th. Actually who really knows how far back these repairs may push us, but we're still hoping for a Christmas miracle for all to be fix and be able to close before then.

UGH! Besides all the house stuff, Christmas is nearing quickly and I have yet to send out cards, or gifts to my brother and sister. I have to make that my main focus next week, along with setting up an appointment to see a different plastic surgeon. I know nothing will happen this year, but at least I can get the consultation out of the way. I want to discuss with him having my other breast removed and replaced with an implant, and I should do that now so they can get all the approvals from the insurance company upfront. I just hope it's the right decision to make, although my body seems to think so, so it must be.

In the meantime, enjoy a picture of Natalie with Santa. We saw him the other day when we went to the Disney store at the mall to pick up our preordered copy of Pirates 2.......good flick!

Comic Relief 2006 bitchfest.

Has anyone seen this comedic show to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina? I think it aired about 2 weeks ago on HBO. It was pretty funny, yet very sad at the same time, as they showed a lot of images and spoke with a lot of people effected by Katrina. One of the major themes of the show was to raise money not just to help re-build, but over and over again, they kept saying the money was needed to bring the people back, to bring businesses back, so the economy will raise. Well let me just say this, when it comes to the after effects of Katrina, and living in Louisiana, almost everyone is blind! This includes, celebs, the government, FEMA, and most businesses. While our purchase of a mere $285,000 house may not help the economy re-build much, people need to take into consideration that in order to come here and buy a house, you need homeowner's insurance - which since Katrina, is absolutely freaken ridiculous! Pretty much all the MAJOR insurance companies have stopped writing policies for several parts of New Orleans. We have found only 2 plans to chose from. One is the state plan, which as of 1/1/07, will be increasing 30%, the other plan we found is Republic, and they are charging an arm, a leg, and all of your children and your children's children. It's totally insane. How do they expect people to return here if no one can afford the insurance. And let me just state that the quote we got through both plans, DIDN'T EVEN INCLUDE FLOOD INSURANCE, just your standard homeowner's policy, along with wind and hail. The state plan which will increase 30% next year was roughly $4000 plus $1000 for flood, which will go from $4000 to $5200 next year. The other plan is also insanely priced at nearly $5000 for homeowner's and an additional $1100 for flood. Now I understand a lot of companies lost their ass when Katrina hit, but the house we are buying had no damage from the hurricane as it hadn't even been hit, but due to the hurricane, practically everything down here is listed as being in or near a flood zone. We came from living in northern Nevada and only paying $600 a year for homeowner's, and now we are looking at paying $500 a month. Trust me when I say, I'm not really a tight-wad. I love spending money, and would rather spend more money if it's for a better item, than buy the cheap thing. Ruben and I have this "thing", we no longer settle. After years of getting the cell phone that has a deal on it, or the cheaper printer, or what-ever it is that not quite a year later we are kicking ourselves in the ass for not buying the best, we've decided no-more. We ultimately buy the best to begin with so no more being mad later when something better comes along. So of course we want better insurance, and luckily Ruben is in a position we CAN afford it, we just have to play around with our finances, and maybe not give in to doing the impulse buying thing. With the cost of insurance, we will definitely have to eat more dinners in that what we currently do. But my complaint is for those don't earn a big salary. They'll never afford it, and it's horribly ridiculous. I have to say that besides the cost for gasoline, I honestly believe that the government should step in and try to mandate some of these costs, so regular 'ol Joe's don't get ass raped by these bullies. How else will New Orleans ever be the same?
It's definitely time to do a cost of living survey, and increase everyone's pay up to meet that of the area. otherwise, say goodbye to New Orleans and to Mardi Gras.

Some before pics

We're still trying to get everything together for our loan approval. Getting affordable insurance in this town is a BITCH. With all the wind, hail and flood crap, rates are out of this world, and surely seems as though they will solely be the death of me. So far we're looking at an annual price of $6000 for home owner's. It's crazy. The area didn't even flood during Katrina, but just since we've had 2 major hurricanes in the past 20+ years, the insurance company feel the need to ass rape you in order to provide you with coverage.
Anyway, here are some before pictures. These were taken off the listing for the house while it still contained furniture. Most of what you see in these pictures is either gone or will be going, as the house is getting a major overhaul with new paint, floors, fixtures, fence, and more. Enjoy and let me know what you think about our new home sweet home! The pix below are of the outside, the family room (which will be somewhat of a game room for Ruben) the pool table room (which will be changed to a family/living room), half of the master bath (can't wait to get in that jacuzzi tub!!!), and the over-sized master suite which is so big it also includes a sitting area and fireplace.

Homeless family buys house!

It's perfect timing all around! Just this morning, there was a loud bang on the door. I answered just in time to find the UPS man, as he was about to leave. The package he delivered was the proceeds sent overnight for the sale of our house in Spring Creek. So here we are, officially homeless - but don't worry, it wasn't for long. Shortly thereafter, the phone rang. It was Ruben calling to tell me that the offer we made on Monday (which had been countered, and countered yet again!) had been accepted. So we rushed off early this afternoon to sign papers and to put down our earnest money. If all goes according to plan we should close on our house on December 15th, but despite the rushed escrow, we won't be moving in just then. We have big plans before moving in to have the flooring and paint re-done, as well as a fence, the counter top, and upgrading bath and light fixtures. Yeah, I know it sounds like a ton of work. Good thing Ruben has made friends with the contractors who are re-doing his office at work. They are willing to take on side jobs such as painting, tile, wood floors, counter tops and bathrooms. We would only need to find someone to install a fence and lay carpet. They even will do the work for very decent wages, which is an added bonus. The goal is to get all the work done prior to moving in, and hopefully have it all done soon so we can get out of this apartment and get back all our belongings. I can't wait to be home, to have a home again, to have all my stuff and to have my scrap space again. But the best part (other than getting the house for less than the $350,000 asking price - a mere bargain at $285,000!) will be owning this HUGE house, and living comfortably again!
I will post before pictures soon. I know, I know, I still haven't even posted all the pictures from the drive here, or from the tour of the French Quarters - but I swear, I will post these before and after pictures!

I think we have a winner!

After seeing quite a few homes over the holiday weekend, I'm happy to say we have finally found the one. The house has been on the market for quite a while, so we are hoping to pick it up for less than asking price. The house, which has 4 bedrooms and 3 and 1/2 baths, has a whopping 3,600+ square feet. Of course, we found a few things we will want to replace - but as with any house, you want to make whatever changes are necessary to make it home. It's hard to say what the real selling point of the house was....possibly the 2+ car/golf cart over sized garage, maybe the kitchen with it's endless counter top, the master closet which was big enough to fit a 2 twin beds end to end, was it the 28x17 master, the 20x18 2nd bedroom, or was it the whole golf course community? In any case, we fell in love with it, and are on our way to meet with our agent today in hopes of extending an offer that will be accepted! Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy & Thankful

This year, however hard and difficult it has been with another move, and the loss of my mother - it still has brought to heart how much you should just stop everything in your life and enjoy it and those around you while you can, while they are here. Don't take anything for granted. Life is the greatest gift of all, and I've been blessed with it. I have this awesome gift of love from a wonderful husband, a beautiful child, and faithful canine companion. I'm thankful for having a place to eat and sleep, even if it means living temporarily in an apartment while in between houses. I'm thankful to have plenty of money in the bank to afford a very comfortable lifestyle that we've all become so accustom to. I'm thankful for all the family I have left, regardless of how small it has become. And this year, I am especially grateful for new friends, who in the absence of having family nearby, took us in and invited us into their home for a warm, down home, family style Thanksgiving with all of their family and friends. It's friends like these that make the best, and we've been blessed to have more than a few.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas comes early for us....

Actually, that's not entirely true. We'll still be celebrating Christmas next month, and we'll still get gifts then, but we're all also getting what we want now. Last week was Cash Sharing for Ruben. Always nice to get this little bonus every May and November, but as an added bonus, he also got his Manager's Bonus as well. While his Manager's Bonus wasn't as big as what most Manager's get, we can't complain. After all, he was only a Manager for 1 month before the end of the Fiscal year. Besides, extra money is extra money. While we will be saving most of the money for Disney World in the Spring, some will also go for Christmas, as well as some expensive toys we've been wanting. I made a deal with Ruben that if he let's me have $1000, then he could have $1000 to spend on whatever he wants. Reluctantly, he agreed. He knew that his $1000 would buy the new Klipsch speakers he's been wanting for the surround sound....while my eye has been researching the new CraftRobo Pro my heart desires for all my scrapbooking needs. While I desperately want this machine, the cost made me think twice - but now with all this extra money, why not get it. I deserve it! Now I just gotta find a place that I want to order it from. I can't wait!!
This little goody will also make up for all that I am about to go through.
Now that I've settled in some here in Louisiana, I've started the search for new doctors. I'm going to see a plastic surgeon next week about undergoing breast reconstruction once again. I'm not looking forward to the pain, but it will be nice to put it all behind me once and for all. I also have to find a new pain doctor and a new oncologist. It's been a while since I've had a blood test to make sure I'm still in remission, and I also need a mammogram done...but that will have to wait till we get a house as my past films are packed up in storage. I'm actually thinking about having my other breast removed, even though I said after my mastectomy that I would NEVER EVER go through that again. The only reason why I contemplate it now is because of the fear of cancer returning. I think it would be better to get 2 implants at once, then get cancer down the road and go through all this again. It's a lot to think about and discuss with the doctor. Hell first we've gotta see if the insurance will approve it - which I don't really think will be a problem. But I wonder if I should wait on any procedures until we get settled into a house, which may be a few more months. Our old house hasn't even closed escrow yet, as the date has been put off twice now as the person buying the house of the person buying ours has had problems with the funding coming through.....that and all these bank holidays. Hopefully it will close this Tuesday as scheduled. Keep your fingers crossed, we want this done and over with.
Here's a picture of the new toy I want - look it up and you'll see all the great stuff this machine can do!

I know it's only November, but.....

I cannot wait till next month! Not just because of Christmas, but also because we have tickets, 3 tickets to be exact, to go see the Saint's play in the Dome! I don't think I've ever been this excited to see a football game....hell, I've never even seen a football game in person - only baseball and hockey, so this will be a first. Natalie's all happy that the 3 of us will get to go together. It's gonna be a great day! I for one know that I'm ready for some football!

More than a Halloween

It was more like a party. Ruben had heard from one of his co-workers about this housing area that is elaborately decorated, and known all around as being one of the best spots to trick or treat. We arrived early as told, to make sure we found parking, then awaited the darkness to come. We started going house to house shortly after the sun set. At first it was somewhat slow, but not long after the whole area was booming. There were hundreds of people everywhere, and everyone young and old were dressed up. It ended up more like Mardi Gras than Halloween. Aside from being an upscale neighborhood, we also found that motorcycle cops were regularly patrolling the area to make sure it a safe experience for all. One house had awesome decorations, as well as many people dressed up in scary costumes. I have to admit this house had even frightened me a bit! They had this guy running around as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and another as Pinhead. This other house had all sorts of decorations, but the alien they had enclosed in a capsule is what really scared Natalie. You should have seen the way she jumped out of her skin when the arm moved, it was priceless! But more than the elaborate displays and massive crowds were the houses that gave out the real goods. At one house there were platters of Subway, cups full of soda, and even wine and beer. One house held a concert, as another made snow cones, and the last one had endless hot dogs and soda on tap. All this food and drink were in addition to the sack full of candy Natalie got. Then throw in the entertainment, and all the people, and you've got yourself the biggest party imaginable. That's the way to do Halloween!

What a blast!

Posting pictures from our Halloween party experience. It was awesome! Will post later about the whole night's activities.

Happy Halloween!

This evening should be interesting fun. I don't have a clue as to where we are going, but Ruben assures me not to worry, that he has it taken care of. Not really sure what that means, but whatever it is, I hope it's safe, age appropriate fun. The reason I say that is because there are a lot of events downtown in The French Quarters, but it's much later tonight, and more on the adult side. Then of course there are lots of scary, spooky events going on tonight like Lestat's Vampire party (which of course was the vampire Tom Cruise played in Interview with a Vampire), Haunted Cemetory tours, and lots of Haunted Houses. I did find a Canine Costume event, but poor Lexie has no costume to wear, so that's out. Whatever he has up his sleeve, I hope it provides fun and entertainment for Natalie. This will be the first year Ruben and I will also dress up along with Natalie - although no thought whatsoever was put into our "costumes". I will be wearing leopard kitty ears and tail, and Ruben will be out and about in his Saint's jersey as a football player. None of which really matches Pocahontas, or required much imagination on our part, but at least it's something. I will be sure to post some pictures soon.
Hope you all have a safe and haunting Halloween!

Halloween Ideas?

Hmmm, what to do. Here it is the day before Halloween, in a new town, and we have no plans yet for the day. Of course Natalie already has her costume picked out- she will be Disney's Pocahontas, and since it came from the Disney Store, she has ALL of the accessories. The weather here seems cooperative, as it has still been quite warm, with very few chilly days. I can't wait to see my little Indian (more like mex-american) Princess all dressed up. Just wish we had a plan as to where to go. I will be checking for activities in the local paper tomorrow morning for safe trick-or-treating.
Tonight Ruben brought up the question of going to a Saint's football game on the 19th, which would be awesome. Only problem is his company only has 2 season tickets for the games. So we are on the hunt on how to make this work. I forfeited my right to go as soon as Natalie had a fit. She loves watching football with Daddy, but bathrooms pose a problems for Father's of little girls. But I swear, even if I have to pay over $200 to buy 3 seats, I will, just so we can all experience a game together. It should be crazy fun! But on the flip-side, I worry about attending a game, cause I think everytime I like a team and watch them play in hopes of them winning, they don't. It's like I curse them somehow, and I really don't want the Saint's to lose another game 2 losses are too many already!

Happy Birthday!!!!

Okay, so today my mind lapsed bad. As a SAHM, I forget what day of the week it is, or get stuck on a specific day for several days. As in last week with all the remberance of my mom, I'm still stuck in time. In anycase, in an attempt to make it up to my beloved sister, with whom I've bonded with more than ever since my mom's passing - I am sending her out a huge wish for the bestest birthday ever. We haven't been this close since since we both lived in Illinois, but I was just a kid then, and as time passed we both ended up going our seperate ways. I miss the bond we once shared, and now without our mom, it is up to us to keep the remainder of this family together.
So Happy Birthday Sis, enjoy the day if not the age!
Love, Angi, Ruben & Natalie

Happy Anniversary

If my mom had only lived to see today, she would be happily celebrating her 17th wedding anniversary with my step-dad Vince. I know even though she has left the earth, that she is still with each of us every day that we need her. She's constantly looking over us and protecting us, and today I know she spent the day with her honey. I can only imagine how hard this day must be for my dad. The 20th marked 3 months since my mother passed away in July. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of her or shed a few tears here and there. What can I say, she's my mom and I will love her my whole life - just as my dad will probably end up loving her for the rest of his life. As much as she is missed, I just wish more than anything that she could've made it to today before passing. But I suppose they will always love and live on in each other's heart. Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. I wish you could have had more time together here on Earth. But love is unconditional, and I know one day you will be together in Heaven again.

Cardinal's WIN World Series

Yesterday after seeing that the Cardinal's won the World Series, I remembered all the times long ago that my mom used to take me to the old Busch Stadium to see the Cardinal's play. I remember watching as Ozzie Smith did flips on the field. I remember my mom being at a game the day I was riding my bike and hit a car in a Red Lobster's parking lot. I remember that they won the World Series in 1982. I don't recall if my mom was a big fan of baseball, or if she was just trying to make for a normal childhood experience - but I do remember having fun with my mom as a child, watching games from the nose bleed section.
It's days like this that remind me how much I miss my mom.

SOLD!!!!!!!

YES! FINALLY! We have finally received an offer on our house that we have accepted. There was some countering offers made by us. But all went well, we ended up getting more money than originally offered, AND we also ended up cutting back on expenses out of pocket. So it's good all around. We started escrow this past Monday, and are scheduled to close November 6th. We started looking more seriously at houses here, but in the St. Charles Parish which is known for having the best schools in the district. We also want to make sure we get something that was high and dry, with no prior damage from Katrina - and preferably out of a flood zone so homeowner's insurance isn't sky high!
We finally opened up a bank account here since there are no US Bank's here. We're looking into opening some CD's or something for small investment periods for part of Natalie's money for college and her wedding. They also have investment specialist we can talk to, since part of the money is for school, but all that will be on the back-burner till after we find a house here and close on it. I just want to make sure we are doing the best we can to make the most of her $86,000, so it stretches far enough to put her through med school (she wants to be a doctor to save babies - just hope she doesn't change her mind later in life) and to give her a nice wedding......but more importantly, the education. Honestly, we'd rather persuade her to elope and take the money to use instead as a down payment on a house......but we still have 11+ years before she's 18, so no worries for now, just worries on how to invest it. Any ideas????

Some interesting facts about New Orleans

- New Orleans is located on the Mississippi River
- The City was named Nouvelle Orleans (New Orleans) in honor of Philippe II, Duc d'Orleans, the regent of France under French King Louis XV.
- 1718 Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville and John Law founded the City of New Orleans and named it. The French Quarter street plan was made by Adrien de Pauger.
- The Louisiana Purchase took place in 1803 when Napoleon I of France sold Louisiana to the United States.
- The first Mardi Gras, which means "Fat Tuesday" in French, took place in New Orleans in 1827.
- New Orleans was the third largest city in the United States by 1852.
- Loyola University was established in New Orleans in 1911.
- Xavier College was established in New Orleans in 1916.
- The Superdome of New Orleans was completed in 1975. The Superdome in New Orleans is the worlds largest steel-constructed room unobstructed by posts.Height: 273 feet (82.3 meters), Diameter of Dome: 680 feet (210 meters), Area of Roof: 9.7 acres, Interior Space: 125,000,000 cubic feet, Total floor footage: 269,000 sq. ft. (82,342 sq. meters), Electrical Wiring: 400 miles (640 kilometers).
- bayou: \BUY-you\ n. a French name for slow-moving "river".
- The Saint Charles streetcar line in New Orleans and the San Francisco, California cable cars are the nation's only mobile national monuments .
- Metairie is home to the longest bridge over water in the world, the Lake Pontchartrain causeway. The causeway connects Metairie with St. Tammany Parish on the North Shore. The causeway is 24 miles long.
- Louisiana is the only state in the union that does not have counties. Its political subdivisions are called parishes.

The Tooth Fairy visits again

Last night, after spending the weekend walking around downtown New Orleans and taking in all the sights, Natalie complained about her tooth being more loose than it had been. I really didn't want to end the day by pulling it with all the fun we've had this weekend, but the tooth was bothering her and she wouldn't quit playing with it. I was afraid it might fall out while eating or sleeping and she would swallow it or something. So like the past 2, I grabbed the dental floss, covered her eyes with a washcloth, started to count, and yanked it out before making it to 3, so she wouldn't expect it. She excitedly woke up this morning to another $5.00 from the Tooth Fairy!
Onto a seperate issue. We did so much walking and sight-seeing this weekend, I took over 200 pictures alone, and that doesn't even include the pictures from the drive here from Vegas. I'm going to attempt to post the majority of the with descriptions to my Flickr account, so be sure to check it out. There you will see bridges, rivers, lakes, Cities of The Dead, and much, much more!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

So all you ladies out there, remember to either do a self exam yourself, or find a willing participant to feel you up for bumps and lumps. In all actuality, you should be doing this monthly, and not just one month out of the year. Not only could it save your life if caught early enough, but it could also save your ta-tas! Trust me, it's better to totally bypass all the ins and outs of Breast Cancer if at all possible!
So don't forget to check your boobs - and tell all your friends too!

9/25 practically becomes a Louisiana State holiday!

All last year after hurricane Katrina had hit New Orleans, The Saints were forced to go on the road to play games as the Superdome had been damaged. Well last night, it all came to an end, as The Saints came marching home to a newly rennovated Superdome. And while there may still be horrific damage all about from the hurricane, the completion of the Superdome was something like a healing to many of those affected by the hurricane.

With the house packed & fans going crazy, the NFL returned to the Big Easy, beating Atlanta 23 to 3. It was a very emotional return as Green Day and U2 rocked the pre-game show. The Saints wasted no time in turning their welcome home party into Mardi Gras!

It just may look like we've added a new team to our list of favorites!

Leaving Las Vegas

After living in or around Las Vegas, or at the very least, the state of Nevada for the last 12 years, I'm actually moving on (at least for now). For the past 2 months, I've been miserably staying at my mother in laws, while my hubby was living and working in Louisiana. All this time, we have all been missing each other so much, and we've all been miserable in our current living situation. I wanted to wait till our house sold and we could buy another, but the wait has already been far too long for our taste. So tonight, my hubby flies in and we will be leaving first thing in the morning to start the 1700 mile drive. So I will be out of commission for probably the remainder of the week, but hope to begin posting on the journey home, and this new chapter in my life starting next week!

An early and late wish for a Happy Anniversary!

Last Friday, on the 15th, Natalie and I met with Cynthia (i am a coconut) and her husband Jeff (This is me) for dinner over at The Cheesecake Factory. We had a wonerful dinner! It was full of lots of laughs, thanks to the entertainment provided via my 6 year old daughter! It was nice to FINALLY meet her husband and talk to him in person! Of course as soon as I learned that Monday was their 2nd anniversary, I just HAD to pick up the tab and treat the two lovebirds to an anniversary dinner- or at least save them the money, so they can have a nice dinner on Monday. Which reminds me, I have to remember to get ahold of her and swap pictures!

Today, there is happiness!

No, we haven't sold our house yet. Actually, we haven't even really recieved an offer on it. I'm so flippin' happy because today the 2nd season of Grey's Anatomy came out on DVD and I just went out and bought it! I had to do it just as soon as I dropped Natalie off at school. Now I'm getting ready to get my McDreamy fix on, and cautch up on as much as I can before 3:20. I gotta finish this boxed set before the 21st so I can remember everthing that happened last year! Have you gone out and gotten yours yet? Get it today! Love that McDreamy!

Time to take a moment and pause for reflection

Tears & Tributes for all those involved 5 years ago today, for the families & victims of 9/11, and for all the stranger and heroes who gave their lives to help others, God Bless You.

Finally, we get to see the child no one thought existed!

Suri Cruise makes her big debut in the October issue of Vanity Fair, a full 22 page spead of family pictures, wedding talk, work, and everything inbetween. Yes, when I saw this magazine sitting on the newsstand at Sav-On, I did buy it, especially at the bargain rate of $4.50. The pictures alone made it worth it, but it had WAY too many clothing ads inside! Honestly though, I do have to admit, she is a cute little tomkitten.......

As you all know, September is here...

and in just 2 horribly long days, comes the much awaited, much anticipated release of the 2nd season of Grey's Anatomy. I know I for one cannot wait. And what's more, in just a few more weeks on Thursday, September 21st season 3 comes back with a bang. It's been said that in the first 3 episodes Meredith will choose between Dr. Derrick "McDreamy" Shepard, and Finn the Vet - but wait, there's more. It is also said that Dr. McSteamy, the plastic surgeon, who caused the whole split between Derrick and his OB wife, will be back for a return visit and to stir up more trouble. I smell another love triangle.....although, MY vote is still with McDreamy, even though all 3 are really hot doctors. Tell me how a sweet, but dweeb-like teen like Patrick Dempsey can turn into such a freaken HOTTIE at mid-age? The hair is oh so yummy, and that smile is almost enough to make you tingle all over just by itself! I just can't wait for this new season to begin. I need, I want my McDreamy fix! But for now it's sleepy time - gotta get up early in the a.m. to take Natalie to school, but for tonight, it's sweet steamy, dreamy, dreams.

Vacation's over & it's time to go back to life & school

Here it is, our 1st school vacation......done, over, kaput. No, we didn't do anything for Labor Day, cause lucky me (ha,ha!!) had been sick all weekend with one of those vice-like head colds. Waking up tomorrow should be lots of fun. The first week of school wasn't off to a good start as it was, as someone else at the school scratched the whole side of my Durango with their Le Sabre's DS mirror, by trying to squeeze in between my car and the curb to make a right hand turn - which all traffic was at a stand still due to the cross guard walking kids across the intersection. All this, and it was only the first day of school. Luckily it looks as though I might be able to buff mine out, but this lady was totally psycho and tried to break my camera when I began taking pictures of the damage and her plate since she refused to give me any info - and psycho is just a nice word for the way she freaked on me, this little old lady musta thought she belonged to a gang or something, cause the whole thing was crazy - some 45 or 50 years old and said she would kick my ass or hunt me down and have me killed? WTF kinda school does my child go to. I hope they ain't teaching her how to be a gangster or something. Anyway, I have a great shot of her trying to grab my camera in which she nearly broke my pinkie finger, as it's all black and blue! And pictures of my newly scratched car, which totally bums me out!

In other news, I just can't wait to be at home with my hubby again, and to be a family, in our own house! I have a little less than a year to get my bod in shape with our new BowFlex Elliptical Machine we got last fall, and the few pieces of Pilate's equipment we have. Then yesterday, Ruben bought a Gold's Gym GS 2500 Series home gym to help work the upper body and other areas. The reason why I say a little less than a year, is because we are planning at least 2 major vacations next summer. 1st off we will be meeting my sister, her husband, and my 2 nephews in Disneyland in May. Then in June it looks like we just might be going to Hawaii with some friends from work to a golfing resort, where we will also see my sister and her family again. And in the event that doesn't work for one reason or another, I still have many ideas for the Bahamas or Cancun. But in any event, I want to get my body a little more beach ready, lose some extra pounds, tighten up what little muscles I do have........and hope and pray that my reconstruction surgeries are finished in time!

Anyhow, hope ya'll had a better (last) week & weekend than me!