Time Flies

Wow, I can't believe February is here already! Like January, it's going to be another busy month. Tomorrow is my brother's birthday, then later this month are the birthdays of my nephew, brother-in-law, and some friends. Then of course we have Valentine's, the anniversary of our very first "real" date, and Mardi Gras which Natalie has the whole last week off from school. I've got two more saline fills to endure then I will be heading into surgery. Personally I'm kinda hoping to do it Mardi Gras week, but we'll see how it plays out.

Friday I'm volunteering at Natalie's school for their diabetes school walk. Natalie has done very well with raising money and is very close to reaching her goal, we're hoping she will raise the most money this year. She corrected me yesterday when I noted that last year she placed 3rd when she actually placed 2nd - this year she's getting a lot of competition, so it's going to be a close call. If you haven't made a donation yet and wanted to, there is still time. All donations have to be turned in Friday morning - so you can still contribute online and receive a tax deduction. We haven't contributed yet as we are going to do it last.

We had a great weekend between Monster Jam and Super Bowl, though I am disappointed that the Cards lost. I think there were some questionable calls made - especially that last one. It should have been reviewed upstairs as Warner's arm was clearly moving forward, so it was not a fumble....and what about the unnecessary roughness of that one Steeler's player that repetitively hit a Cards player? It just was NOT right - however it did make for a good game, and having great food and company just made it all the better! Monster Jam was a lot of fun. I've got like 300+ pictures to go through and post. Grave Digger really tore it up and won the freestyle competition, then again he always does!

So, I'm sure that after my appointment tomorrow I'll be in some major pain for several days. Can't believe I volunteered at school knowing how much I'll hurt and how doped up I may be, but I really want to take pictures and be there for the whole thing. Luckily the walk isn't too long. Natalie also hinted that she'd like me to come to lunch one day, so I told her either Thursday or Friday I would come and bring McDonald's and have lunch with her. I should be good as long as no kids bump into me...hahaha. I'm sure to keep you posted, and I hope to get those pix up soon!

The Wrap Up

Here's what's been going on around here this past weekend.

Friday Natalie had half day of school to kick off her holiday school vacation that lasts till January 5th. She came home and immediately began playing with her friend that lives around the corner. It wasn't long before the girls asked for a sleepover. They played for a bit, then watched some movies - so the evening was pretty low-key.

Saturday was another chill day spent at home. This time of year we absolutely do not go anywhere unless it's a necessity - we HATE holiday traffic. We always have all our Christmas shopping done by mid November. We watched the Cowboys choke away another game. Then sometime after Natalie went to bed, Ruben pulled out all the gifts and we began the dreaded deed. I despise bulk gift wrapping! It's tedious and when done in bulk, it takes all the fun out of it! Ruben ended up wrapping the majority - I ended up doing all the boxes and bags. Once again it appears we over-bought for Natalie - and what makes it worse is that her birthday is just 10 days after Christmas, so she'll be getting even more stuff come the 4th! So we badly need to go through all her old toys - and clothes too, gather it all together and make a donation before the years end.
While wrapping gifts we caught The Bucket List while it was playing on HBO. Have you seen this movie? It is so good, yet incredibly sad! Of course you know the premise of it is about two men who are told they only have so long to live - so they make a list of things they would like to accomplish before they kick the bucket. What you probably don't know is that the two main characters (Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) are dying from different types of cancer. After all this time I still cannot bear to watch movies about cancer and death. It just hits too close to home! At the end of the movie Ruben asked me what I thought and I was too choked up, with tears streaming down my face to even answer him. It took me several minutes before I could compose myself and speak. But despite the storyline/ending it was still an awesome movie - I would recommend watching it!
Also on Saturday, I found a lump on my face. Not a lump like the cystic acne I get, because of where it is located. It's right in front of my left ear, on my face where your cheek bone meets your ear. It's a good 1/4 inch in size - semi-hard (not too squishy), protrudes a bit, kinda wiggles though it seems like it's attached at one point - as I cannot pull and lift it off my face, only move it back and forth. It was quite scary to find - but from all my research online it seems like it may possibly be a lymph node or either a saliva or nasal gland. It seems reasonable to me - lymph nodes swell for various reason, and I have a bit of a head cold right now plus I've broke out with a rash and acne above my left eyebrow - it happened soon after Natalie and I went to the salon. My skin is uber sensitive, and I always break out following waxing or tweezing of my eyebrows. The rash resembled razor burn, and just got worse from there. My nervous, unconscious scratching habit probably caused it to get infected. I'm trying not to freak out about it, as stress always makes my acne worse! Aside from viewing the anatomy of the face, which shows 3 lymph nodes and a gland in that area - I think what is also helping me is that I read several questions from people who have found the same thing, and the answer that was posted to the questions was: as a general rule as far as lumps go - if it moves it's likely nothing, but if it doesn't then it should be checked out as it could be something, although I think generally speaking all lumps that stay longer than 2 weeks should be checked out by a doctor. I am tentatively scheduled to get a PET scan done on the 30th, so I will bring it up to the doctor then if I still have it. So I'm not worrying about it till someone tells me I should be - that's the plan!

Sunday was the usual - did some laundry, watched some football, relaxed at home. Nothing special, but it's just the way we like it!

Ruben's planned some time off for this week, but had to go to the office today to take care of a few things. We're hoping he won't have to go back till next week, but we'll play it by ear. It all depends what comes up at work. He'll have to take off for the 30th cause Natalie will still be on break and I'm supposed to have the PET scan done. I'm a big baby when it comes to these types of tests, so Ruben will have to go to hold my hand. It's just that I am an extremely hard stick and the test will require an IV so they can inject some radioactive glucose or something into my veins. With only having one usable arm for needle sticks, veins that collapse on a whim, and growing anxiety each time a stick fails. Yeah, these tests really aren't any fun - cause even after it's done, I still have the anxiety as I wait for the results and with the test being right before New Years, you know I won't get back any results till next year! Please cross your fingers and think positive thoughts for me. I really need this test to show no potential cancer clusters in my body so I won't have to do chemo. Other than that we don't really have much planned for the holiday - I plan on making dinner on Christmas Eve, a ham with all the sides. It's only right as we had turkey for Thanksgiving, and with it being just the 3 of us we really don't need both a bird and a ham! Besides, we don't want another possum in our back yard eating the oil from deep frying the bird!
After Thanksgiving Ruben drained the pot but left the container outside. the next day he noticed that half the oil was gone. Every day it disappeared even more. then one night we go to let Lexie outside before bed and here's this possum licking the bottom of the pot. At first we didn't see it till it raised it's paw to attack Lexie. I grabbed the broom and chased it out of the backyard.....there's a sizable gap under our fence so that's how it got in. Imagine that thing drinking oil for a week....ewww!
So other than a lonely holiday with just the 3 of us, our only other plans will be for Natalie's birthday. We plan on spending Saturday the 3rd at the Children's Museum and the Insectarium - then on the 4th we'll have a nice dinner out and will spend the day shopping. We don't plan on buying her anything in advance. We're going to let her pick all of her own gifts. So both days will be exhausting walking all over the place. She's not having a birthday party next year cause frankly the majority of the kids around here are treating her poorly. Besides it's not like anyone really buys her anything nice. We've spent some bucks on gifts for some kids, $80 on one....hell I've even gone as far as to buy things like shirts for the kids just cause I was getting Natalie one and I knew the other kids would like them......and what does she get in return? Re-gifted items, really cheap toys, and not even a second thought from the parents. So why bother, right?

Another Week of Radiation

Mondays mark the beginning of another lovely week of radiation - though I should specify that treatment itself is not bad, it's just the traffic. But so far I have 12 down and 23 left to go - which is roughly 4 1/2 weeks, perhaps longer if I miss days or because of holidays. Slowly but surely I am getting there.

So how was every one's weekend?

We went into town so I could order my iPhone on direct fulfillment, cause I was unable to get it on Friday as promised. Apparently the stupid regional manager for the AT&T stored here only ordered like 60 per store because he thought that there wasn't a big need for them. He told me that everyone who wanted an iPhone already had one - yeah but he didn't factor in the hundreds of us waiting for the new one so we could upgrade. The stores had lines that formed at 5am. It was ridiculous. But at least with direct fulfillment I should have my phone in 3 to 10 days, and since it is paid for I will get it before walk-ins.

I was pretty pissed Friday because I had gotten up early and went into town just to get my phone, and since that plan back-fired, I ended up walking through the mall buying gifts for Ruben's birthday tomorrow. All that walking around and standing not only killed my knee, causing it to inflame once again, but also caused my ankles to swell. I wasn't exactly happy cause my knee was finally healing, though it still popped and cracked with each step. I can't afford to damage it any further - and I've been waiting about 2 months for it to heal so I can get back on the Wii Fit!

So after ordering my phone we had lunch and bought a new 42" HDTV 1080p. One of our old TV's has been going bad for a while and since several repairmen could not fix it, RC Willey reimbursed us the full cost of that TV minus the extended warranty. I swear that was the best damn extended warranty ever - no wait, we bought a 37" Olevia from Office Depot about 8 months ago and one of the speakers went out so they shipped us a brand new model. So Natalie now has that 37" HDTV 1080i, and we have the 42" one in our bedroom. The old TV is still kicking and has been in the guest room every since we thought it was about to go out. We got tired of the screen going gray while playing video games so we took the 57" in the living room and put it in the game room, and bought a new 61" for our TV room. Once we reported the problems we were having they replaced like a motherboard within that TV, so it works great again, it's just that on one side it picks up interference and shows these little static white lines that are about 2 inches long every minute or so - but it has done this since 2004, so I don't think it poses a real problem - and if it should go out it's just the guest room TV. All our other TV's are less than a year old, so it's all good. though I find it kinda funny that our 8 year old has a bigger, better TV than most people have in their living rooms. I swear Ruben created a monster when he turned me on to electronics. Before I could never tell the difference between a regular TV and an HD LCD TV - but now, whoa! I want the biggest, bestest TV's around - besides I'm pretty much blind so bigger is always better!

So tomorrow is Ruben's birthday. Since it falls during the week we really don't plan on much. Just a little cake that I'll either buy tomorrow after treatment, or one that Natalie will make. We kinda already celebrated this weekend, as that is when I gave him his gifts and we had a nice meal out. I gave him his gifts early cause I am always so impatient and excited. I just bought him some clothes, nothing too special cause we're adults - we buy what we want when we want it. We don't need an excuse to buy something we like, I mean as long as we can afford it we buy it when we see it. Now that my iPhone is out of the way, I will be pooling my extra money together to buy that $1200 Nikon DSLR camera & lens combo I want. I guess I've been putting it off cause I really don't need it. I have an awesome Sony digital point & shoot with 3 extra lenses, but it's an obsession of mine. Especially every time we go to a VooDoo game or Saint's game and I see the photojournalist there with their cameras with huge ass lenses. Ah well, one day soon. I promise. I want it so I can take more artistic photos and not just pictures of the family. Plus a remote for those self pictures will be nice!

Ok, well it's time for me to get ready for radiation. Oh joy!

Almost forgot, I saw one of the bunnies out on Friday, so they're still surviving somehow. It makes me glad to know the gator haven't eaten them!

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!

Weekend Recap

What a busy weekend - and losing an hour on top of it. I'm so tired, but this week is no vacation either!

Saturday I got word that a local scrap store was going out of business in Mandeville, and was selling items at 70% off. Well after driving over 40 miles, which included taking the 21 mile bridge across Lake Ponchatrain, we found the store where I stocked up on everything they had left in stock only to get to the register to find out the 110 pcs. of Bazzill cardstock I picked up wasn't included in the sale. It sucked cause we just drove all that way and I really needed cardstock, so I decided that I might as well make it worth it. I would end up paying the same amount elsewhere, and this way I was able to hand pick the colors I needed. Besides I also managed to save over $60 for the other items I purchased. Afterwards we had lunch at this nice little Italian place that was in the same shopping area. After the prior week I had had, it was nice to go out and have a nice meal, as well as an Italian Margarita, which had dashed of Sprite and OJ in it. It was a nice change from the occasional Lemon Drop Martini I get. After lunch we shopped off the meal by going to both Best Buy and Wal-Mart. We stocked up tons of new release movies and Easter items. We managed to put a sizable dent in our checking account by the end of the day. I swear shopping together is quite dangerous for the two of us!

Sunday we spent the afternoon at a Voodoo arena football game. One of Ruben's co-workers gave us tickets, as they weren't able to go. It ended up being a lot of fun. Natalie the ever-changing tomboy wanted a football, so I bought her one. They had the cutest little mini-pink football, but she refused. After the game we came home and played the newly released Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. I'm not much of a gamer, but it was fun. However since I don't know how to use any of the characters powers I gave up and requested Guitar Hero. I really have a lot of fun rocking out to that game, even though my guitar skills aren't the best.

Tonight I'm both excited and scared to start my Photoshop class. It's a 2 hour class that is weekly for the next 6 weeks. It's about time I learn how to use my Photoshop program. There is so much more I could be doing with it, so I can't wait to begin!
Tomorrow I follow up with my plastic surgeon. I'm not sure what he'll do since I don't know yet where things stand. He may just want to check my scars, as I don't know if it's okay to continue with the saline injections until we know more about the cancer and the treatment I will have to complete. Wednesday and Thursday I have blood tests, a chest scan, and bone scan - but the big test, the PET CT scan isn't until Monday the 17th. That's the test that will show if I have any other tumors, or if the cancer has spread elsewhere - and with Easter just after that I fear I may not have answers or a course of treatment until April. All this waiting is so hard to do! In the meantime I have been trying to occupy myself with scrapbooking. I started on the 3 albums for Ruben's co-worker, some of the pages I have posted to Flickr. They are simple yet satisfying. Soon I will also have to start on my circle journal as we finally have a start date set for the end of the month, which at the rate things are going will be here in a blink of an eye!