Deep in a Funk

The last few weekends I have been feeling really great thanks to our new neighbors. I've finally acquired more energy since radiation ended and to top it off, I've even been venturing outside of my safety zone - which is a HUGE deal for me! BUT - I woke up this morning and realized I'm kinda sinking back into my old funk. Over the last few days or so some things have happened that have gotten me upset, and I find myself feeling depressed once again. I'm hoping it will pass - but I'm thinking that even if I do work myself out of this funk, the events that put me here will still remain - leaving me prone to easily fall back into the funk again should something happen again.
Ruben says I am just being sensitive - and he's partially right. My big thing is that I have really put myself out there and I have tried so hard to be nice, and to make friends. I have offered my help and whatnot to others - and what I have received in return is basically squat - some have blown me off, or turned their backs on me, and some even seemed to just reject me and my help. With some it's like I have to force a conversation with them - like they don't want to talk to me, others seem to run hot and cold....friendly one minute, not so much the next. Some act as though I am beneath them....which is silly, but it still hurts nonetheless. It's kinda like high school once again. But you know what? Regardless of how they "act" all superior to me, it doesn't matter to me if they don't see me as being fit or beautiful or that they think they are better cause I'm just a jeans and t-shirt kinda person. I must say I'm pretty damn comfortable with myself and my life. I went through that period when I bought all the expensive, nice clothes and I had to have lots of new beautiful jewelry - the mani's and pedi's and expensive highlighted beautiful hair. But then I came to a point in my life when those things just didn't matter that much to me anymore. My values changed, and so did I, I guess. It doesn't mean that I don't value or respect myself. It's just that I value my comfort more. I'm not totally vain (though I do have bouts where I am! LOL), and I surely don't need or want to come off as ostentatious, or pretentious - I'm trying to make friends or keep the ones I have, not offend everyone. I have nearly all I could ever want or need in my family and the many wonderful things we have- and there is no reason whatsoever for me to be parading it around for all to see. I'm just not that kind of person. I just happen to be a very down-to-earth, reserved person - who's very friendly and loyal once you get to know me - and this whole thing just has me feeling depressed, like I'm just not good enough for any of them - yet they don't even know *me*, and it hurts!!!!
Or maybe like Ruben says, I'm just being overly sensitive and I'm reading too much into things and blowing things out of proportion. He says to just give it time - that eventually my true friends will come forward, like they have in the past - and hopefully my neighbors will continue to come through for me to cheer me up in the meantime. What do you think? In the past I couldn't have cared less about this type of stuff - whether someone liked me or what others thought about me - but all my real friends live so far away so there's that time difference, plus they work during the day......I would like some other people in my life other than my family. But is it worth trying so hard? Or maybe I'm just picking the wrong type of people to be friends with....

October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Now is the time to remember to do your self-exams and schedule your mammograms, as October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Please remind all your loved ones and friends!

Is it possible that I've been wrong all along?

Just left the new chemo doctors office. I'm sitting waiting at the lab
for a whole slew of tests to be done.
Before I even argued my case against chemo the doctor suggested
possibly skipping it. He said that first I need some labwork done and
he needed to brush up ok my medical history. As he thumbed through my
records he came across something that suggested that this may not be a
local recurrence. He noted that it looked as though I might have had
an amplification on my Her2 pathology from my original cancer and this
recurrence. If this is true then it's possible that this isn't a
recurrence, but a secondary occurrence - meaning it may have been a
whole new cancer.
Stumped by his observation I decided to go through my records and see
for myself just what he meant. Upon looking at my past results it
appears that I may have been wrong all along. I found things in the
reports I've never noticed before.
I'll post more later. It's time for my blood to be drawn.

Angi

"Whoever said winning isn't everything never had to fight cancer"

Http://scrapaddictnv2.blogspot.com/

Sent from my iPhone

Alligator Festival

Natalie and Charlie ride the Avalanche.

Ruben and the saw

Today we had all of our hedges removed from the front of our house
along with two of our trees. Ruben saved the one to use this winter as
firewood.

LO Challenge

Heather challenged me to create a layout this week WITH pictures on it, so here they are. They're 8x8 and not what I had intended on doing, but I found this kit I purchased and thought it went well with the pictures Ruben & I just took. I'll do Natalie's Punk Rock Chic layout next week. So what do you think?

HELP!!

Dear Internet Followers,
I am in need of your expertise. Last night I filmed Natalie's first guitar lesson with hubby's camcorder - which I have never used before. To my dismay, I came home and found that everything recorded in a MP4 format and my Windows Movie Maker gives me an error every time I attempt to use it to edit this format. I tried some other program I found online that converts any format to any format - the only problem is that it too gave me an error, and I am at a loss. I don't know what to do! I want to edit the video so I can post tidbits of the class online, but I don't know how. Can anyone offer some advice or program to use?

Rock on....

Serious 'Tude

Can't help but to laugh

Ready To Rock

Her first lesson didn't teach much more than how to tune a guitar, but
did include a book and homework to practice. She was one of three
girls in a class of seven. She even seemed to flirt with an older
tween boy, telling him he had a nice guitar. I'll check the footage
that is if I even worked the camcorder right and try to post it later.

Rock On!

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

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

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

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

Pictures to Share

Just wanted to show off some pictures -

The first is the picture I took Wednesday night just after I pulled Natalie's 9th loose tooth.

Then we have the scrap layout I did today @ the Book Of Me class.

Lastly, is a picture of this beauty I found on my way home. It's my first, so I had to share - I've been waiting for a year to actually see one of these - and YES they do live close to us. I found this one down on Highway 90 by a little fishing shack Pier 90. Luckily it's miles away - and dead!

Hooray For The Weekend!

Tomorrow is a *ME* day and I can't wait! I booked a scrap class over at the Mandeville Scrappersaurus store. I'm so excited because my *idol* Heather is teaching it. I've got my crop bag all packed and have printed 15 photos that I adjusted using Adobe CS2. I wasn't sure which finish would work best with the paper we're using in class, so I just printed a batch. It's been so long since I've gone to a crop or class - so it will be nice to de-stress and have an afternoon away and all to myself.
Thursday after my dentist appointment I stumbled upon Ruben at Party City and we bought our new Halloween costumes. Yay! It's going to be so much fun. Our new neighbors are trying to organize a block party, but if that doesn't work out then I'm sure we'll be returning to Imperial Woods again. We always have such a good time there. Never has Halloween been that big a deal to us till we moved here. Now I look forward to it every year! I'm just glad we got our costumes early this year!
Next week Natalie starts her guitar lessons and we are so stoked! The only bad thing about next week is Danny goes home - and it's going to be super hard on all of us to see him go after spending yet another summer here with us. As much as it's going to hurt Ruben to see him leave, I feel that he'll get over it fairly soon. Him and the new neighbor seem to be bonding quite well. It's nice to see him hanging out talking and having a beer with someone. Since we've moved so much he's lost touch with most of his friends.....and we just seem to click with these new neighbors. Again I think it's the whole southern hospitality thing that just makes them so open. Earlier this week when I encountered some problems with the school, they offered to mediate for us as they are really involved with the school.....and when Ruben bought a chainsaw to prune the trees, the neighbor insisted he return it as he has a monstrous one he loaned us to use. I'm glad that such nice people bought that house - I was afraid it would be empty forever in this market. I mean as it was, it had been for sale the whole year and a half we've live here and like some 6 months or more before that. They have a 9 y/o son, who Natalie has become fast friends with. She is such a little tomboy!
I watched that Zeitgest documentary, and found it wasn't quite as disturbing as I thought it was going to be. Ruben didn't want me to watch it - but honestly I found that it was nothing but repetitive actions that all may be just coincidences. There were only a few parts that did shock me and left me feeling outraged. But then again, who really knows if any of it is true or if it's all just speculation. It's definitely interesting! Check it out and see for yourself.

The things kids say

Last night I had to assist Natalie by pulling out her 'dragon' tooth -
which is one of your fangs - cause it was dangling from her mouth.

Fast forward to this morning and I asked her if the tooth fairy came.

She said she did and had gotten $20.
I said wow, what are you going to do with all that money.

She yold me - put it in my piggy bank cause daddy said when the bank gets full I can get a credit card. LMAO!

I asked Ruben what he told her and he said he did not tell her credit card - he said gift card. LOL.

Sent from my iPhone

Yum, Yum, Yum

Last night during the new episode of House I caught what I believe is the first televised preview of the new Bond flick Quantum Of Solace. OMFG, Daniel Craig is just one damn sexy freaken bad ass. I think he was the perfect choice for this role - look at his hard ass body and ruggedly handsome good looks! It appears to be as action packed as Casino Royale - which I have saved on my DVR with other favorites like Live Free or Die Hard & Transformers. I'm looking forward to November 7th cause I definitely want to see this one on the big screen!

I can't help but to keep watching it, but first I need to check out some documentary by zeitgeist. I won't say what it's about, but you can Google it and see.

Did I read too much into my last doctors appointment?

Yesterday I had my post-radiation therapy follow up appointment. Everything went well - my site looks great and is healing well, so he released me from his care.

As I've recently noted, I'm in the position where I really would rather not do chemo - but since I was unable to get an Oncotype DX test done on my tumor, I honestly have no clue as to whether I would benefit from chemo therapy or not. my research show me that the Oncotype DX test is most effective for first time diagnosis, as it maps out your risk of recurrence and whether or not chemo would be beneficial for you or not. Since this was a recurrence for me that test would be useless. So I figured I'd ask my radiation oncologist his thoughts on it. you know how you'll talk to one doctor and they'll say or you don't need this treatment you only need this one (which happens to be the one they're pushing.)

OK, so I've mentioned how I'm not sure if I want to do chemo because of how it may affect my liver. This doctor assured me that there are tests they can do to monitor my liver function - which I know about. However these tests seemingly some how missed the fact that my mother had cirrhosis until it was already end stage, and was too late. Which still has me baffled. Thus the reasoning behind why I don't want anything that will be bad for my liver as I take plenty of medication and like an occasional drink. My mom NEVER drank, but was on all kinds of prescriptions - though they blame her cirrhosis on a gastric bypass procedure she had done in 1979 - a procedure I would never undergo now because of it's known liver complications.
So here I am looking for some kind of advice from my doctor to support my reasoning when he tells me something that I has me wondering did I hear him right or am I over-dramatizing the conversation. I asked him if he thought chemo would benefit me, and if this was the end. According to him the radiation eradicated the cancer in my breast, so it will likely NEVER return there (or at least SHOULDN'T) - BUT - since I have already had a recurrence is is possible that the cancer CAN return somewhere else. WHOA, did he just tell me that my cancer will likely return or did I make a mountain our of a molehill? I am still confused about what he told me (he has a very heavy accent, so it's hard for me to understand him at times.) He didn't really say yay or nay on the whole chemo or no chemo thing. It's just chemo is a systematic treatment and radiation is a localized treatment. Also what I know about this recurrence is that it is believed that 3 years ago when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy that one tiny little cell was left behind and that my medication Femara failed to prevent my estrogen from binding with the cancer cells, so it grew. My only problem with this theory is that my pathology on my mastectomy came back clean and clear and I've had a hysterectomy - so how would it be possible for one little cell to be left behind and grow when my estrogen level should be very low? Also I did not receive radiation the first time - had I did then a chest wall recurrence would not have happened.

So am I looking at fighting cancer for life? Will doing chemo really prevent it from returning? As it is, my cancer has not spread - so why would I need chemo. Can't I just do hormonal therapy (a new AI treatment like Femara) and get annual or bi-annual PET scans to spot out cancer clusters - then deal with them as found? Because seriously, if the cancer were to return a PET scan would be the only way for it to be detected besides blood marker tests.

I'm still unsure of the whole chemo thing. In fact I think I am more confused now as to what to do. If it were you, what would you do?

I'm not one for politics....but

This SNL skit is too freaken funny!



Both my husband and I are not ones for the whole political BS. I'm ashamed to say that cause as we've gotten older, I realize that we should be voting. I haven't voted since I turned 18. Mostly I think I don't participate cause I tend to make bad decisions when it comes to things of this nature. I just don't follow politics all that well. I know where I think we should go as a country, what we need - but to me, it seems most politicians are just liars....good ones at that. Personally I was shooting for Hilary, but Obama beat her out. I'm just not sure if I feel that he's the one for the job. I'm not really too sure about McCain either, but for some reason I am drawn to Palin. Even though she is surrounded by controversy, I think she's be a perfect VP. In fact the only other person I can think of that would make a good candidate is Gov. Bobby Jindal - Louisiana State Govenor. I don't know if this makes me a Republican or what. I think it's more the person rather than the party that gets my attention. I'm seriously thinking about voting this year. guess I should first make sure that I am registered!

The saying goes if you don't vote then don't bitch - but at the same time I shamefully agree with Brooke Hogan when she wrote that most people only vote because “it’s cool” and (like herself) have no real idea what’s going on in and around the White House.....and it's so true cause this whole Rock the Vote thing pushes younger college kids to exercise their right and vote, though they likely know very little about politics.
So I'm torn - should I vote though I have no clue, or should I try to educate myself in the coming weeks so that I can place my vote? What would you do? Do you exercise your right to vote?

This IS NOT cool

Ever since Gustav I have a new favorite blog that I read daily for news affecting my area - The St. Charles Parish Blog. Today this was posted....

Willowridge Update
St. Charles Parish residents who are signed up through EOC's telephone alert system received a message this afternoon regarding rising water in the Willowridge subdivision in Luling:

Water in the Willowridge area is rising and may continue to rise. We expect some possible street flooding due to this, but at this time we don’t anticipate any homes flooding due to the rising water.

The ring levee behind this subdivision has been experiencing seepage since this morning.

A front is now bringing winds out of the southwest, which is preventing quick receding today as had been expected. As water is receding from areas near Hwy. 90, that water is now filling the swamps and marshland behind the subdivisions south of 90 in Luling.



This just happens to be the area where we live. Though the water is not close to our home yet, it could be come morning if the winds don't change direction. Just effing great - we survive Gustav with minor damage and now we could possibily flood cause Ike hit Texas some 200 miles away. Seriously, WTF?

This kid rocks

Natalie's guitar lessons start on the 23rd. Though I think she has a LONG ass way to go before she gets here, I truly hope that one day she does - cause let me just say a guitar and amp kit is not cheap! We're both super excited about the class - I'll be sure to post some videos when the time comes. But for now check out this prodigy child....too cool.

8 Year Old Shredder @ Yahoo! Video

From My Sister

My sister recently blogged about the benefits of blogging - it enables us to keep up with one another's life despite thousands of miles and a 5 hour time difference. We get to be informed without spending countless hours on the phone. Gotta love technology. In addition to blogging, I love the Stylem App for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It allows us to instantly send little greeting and messages to brighten our day and let us know we're thinking about one another. Wish my nhbby could get this for his Blackberry. Maybe I should get him a Touch afterall.
Anyway, here is the greeting she sent me....

http://stylem.com/greeting/q17v2k

Sent from Stylem iPhone App

Sent from my iPod

I'm a sick lil scrapper

Once again I'm having problems with my sinuses or I have a head cold. Started hurting yesterday and hasn't really stopped despite all the Tylenol and Advil. My damn teeth even hurt. I can feel that the congestion is about to give. Natalie is also sick. She's been throwing up all day again. Oh wonderful. At least she's been making it to the bathroom in time today, so that's a good thing.

Even though I am not feeling well, I have been pretty productive. I scrapped another mini album that I'm thinking about giving away. Originally I planned to keep them all, but I decided yesterday that I need to stop hoarding every little album I get. Sure I have tons of pictures to scrap, but I also have a few people that I need to do something nice for - and what better way to say thank you than with a handmade gift? It's not like I want to give them all away, but I should share at least some of the wealth.

I posted some pictures on Flickr, but I also put together this little mosaic of the main pages - so enjoy!

Now that I am done I'm contemplating starting another album or resting....hmmm.

Mother Nature has her own plans....

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


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


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

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


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

In Remembrance

On this day seven years ago, our country experienced one of the world's greatest tragedies. Lives were lost of countless civilians and heroes alike. There are many people out there that speculate that 9-11 was one huge conspiracy orchestrated by our government (there are lots of different film theories floating around the web that highlight questionable events of that day.) I don't know if I can allow myself to believe that cause if I do then I will also have to give into the whole possible theory that the government has a cure for cancer - but since it is a billion dollar industry they have not released it. What I do know is that since that day we have lost countless more lives in a war that has produced very little - and courtesy of this Bush Administration era, we as a country are on the sinking verge of another mass recession. Gee thanks Mr. Bush, I know that I for one think that you did one awesome job of putting this great country into the crapper - but hey at least you'll be remembered for something.

Here are some amazing pictures I came across last night and one that a friend gave me. Enjoy.

"Evacuation" Over

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

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

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

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

Our Debris

We've cleaned up our yard - here's the aftermath.
I posted pix from Gustav at Flickr so check them out.

Google "Needs" Meme

I saw this meme over at Lora's place, and I thought it was hilarious, so I'm doing it as well. All you have to do is a Google search, typing in your first name followed by the word "needs" and see what comes up. Like Lora, I'm doing ten:

Angi needs....more time (yes especially with Ike coming into the Gulf)
Angi needs.....your support (I do need lots of help and support)
Angi needs....to be comfortable (YES, comfort at bedtime is hard to achieve!)
Angi Needs.....an energy drink (I don't care much for the taste of most of them, but I could use a boost)
Angi needs......a lot of rest (how right they are - cleaning up all that debris was tiring!)
Angi needs.....to follow her heart and not worry what others have to say (always good advice and I think Natalie needs to follow it too - there has been too much kid drama!)
Angi needs.....to be on a diet (I'm trying, I'm trying - but it's hard when you have to trow all your food away and try to eat healthy when you're staying in a hotel!)
Angi needs......to stay healthy (um yeah, no more cancer please!)
Angi needs......an attitude adjustment and I need it now (guess I could use one, but I'm actually quite fond of my attitude - in fact I can think of many others who could use an attitude adjustment!)
Angi need.....all the motivation I can get (so much to do, so little time - and no energy to do any of it!)

I've been awarded with a Blog Award!!

Heather awarded me with a Blog Award. YAY!

Thank you Heather! You are so very sweet, and I'm very flattered! I originally met Heather on SB.Com - she's an amazing scrap artist, makes digi-goodies that you can check out on her blog - and she is also a teacher at a local scrap store near where I live. I'm very excited that I will be taking her BOM class later this month (pending Hurricane Ike) and meet her face to face! She's one of my scrap idols!

So now I get to pass it on.

Here are the rules:

(1) The winner can put the "I :heart: your blog" logo on their blog.

(2) Link the person you received your award from.

(3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (if you can).

(4) Put links of those on yours.

(5) Leave a message on the blogs of the girls or boys you’ve nominated.

So I am going to choose 7 people and here they are (in NO particular order!):

1. Deb

2. Lora

3. Cynthia

4. Melissa

5. Sonia

6. Undomestic

7. Florrie

You girls rock! Pick up your award, and then follow the rules!

A Piece of Home

Got home earlier and found LOTS of debris and branches. Our fence took
a beating. One section fell apart but all pieces were found and Ruben
already put it back together. Other parts were crooked where the wind
blew the panels around and one post sunk a bit. We have a section of
siding that is falling off the upstairs portion of the house - but I
think Danny can get up there and nail it back down. Then of course we
lost some shingles from the roof but it's not bad. The neighbors
across the street lost quite a bit right down to the bare wood.
After unpacking the car we started on cleaning up the yard. Ruben ran
up the street and dumped the old food. Still gotta scrub the fridge
but we're too tired tonight. It seems the cable is working ok so we're
watching Ike closely.
All in all we fared quite well. We consider ourselves very lucky!
Just hoping to not have to repeat all this again in a week!

Heading Home

Our neighbor called last night and told us the power has been
restored. Not sure about the Waste Water Lift Stations though. I
reasly don't want the sewer to backflow - just cleaning out the fridge
will stink bad enough! Besides the hotel was costing us a fortune.
One week was almost as much as our mortgage and if that weren't bad
enough we have to buy new groceries as well. Let's hope that Ike
doesn't come here cause we can't afford to do this twice!

At the Roadhouse

Texas Roadhouse that is. Haven't eaten here since before Natalie was
born. I think the last time had been with Lora and Karl.....and yes,
they still serve peanuts in the shell and you can still throw those
shells on the floor. One thing I really like about this place is
walking by and seeing the big cuts of beef laid out on display. It's
like looking at a lobster tank at Red Lobster.
The fresh baked rolls are served hot and they're still as good as I
remember. I just hope my steak is to die for....

Some Good News at Last

Just got a call from one of my neighbors who drove home today despite power outages. She called to let me know that our house appears ok - no trees fell on it or on our neighbor's house. It's the best news I have heard in a LONG time! It doesn't mean that we don't have roof damage from the wind or something - but at least our house and belongings should be ok. I know we'll be sleeping well tonight!

Yahtzee

Fun and games in the hotel - brought to you by The Parker Bros.

Finally a little info

Found a link for St. Charles Parish. The blog lists many updates and so far things sound like it may be ok - though I seriously worry about the 6 huge trees in my back yard. I worry they may have fallen on my house or our neighbor's. I'm hoping to talk with one of my neighbors later and see if I can find anything out, though I don't know if any stayed...........

Today's Headline Here in Shreveport

Picked this up this morning while I was getting our free breakfast
here at our hotel - which I must say has a very impressive spread.
Apparently they also serve a free dinner during the week. So I highly
recommend Residence Inn - though we don't have the large suite Ruben
usually gets cause we added a day at the last minute.
We're not exactly sure of the damage back home, if any. We're watching
our local Fox news on the net, but we've yet to see anything regarding
our particular area. They're saying it's come on shore as a strong cat
2 instead of the predicted cat 4 or 5. So I think this storm may have
been highly sensationalized. Though it did not hit New Orleans
directly, where we live is on the east side of the eye of the storm -
which is always hit the hardest.
They just reported that the storm shifted to the north and the eyewall
is now over Houma which is about 35 miles away from our house. Not
good for us. Suddenly I feel sick from breakfast! I wish they'd do a
local report from Luling.
I'm pretty sure almost all of our neighborhood evac'd - or at least
everyone I have phone numbers for. Most people Ruben knows evac'd as
well. He does have a friend from work that stayed. At the moment she's
ok and has power. Traffic was backed up horribly on I10 despite the
contraflow - where they opened up all lanes of traffic to go one
direction. It took some many hours just to drive to Baton Rouge an
hour away.
Keep your fingers crossed that all is well!

Passing Time

Fed up with watching news, not able to watch a movie on the TV cause
Danny forgot a cable, wishing we had some board games or something to
help pass the time - the gang settles down with a deck of cards and I
resort to watching a movie on my laptop. All this waiting sucks.....BAD!

On The Boardwalk

Made it safely to our hotel around 10:30 - didn't experience any major
traffic problem.....at least not like the current backed up traffic
shown on I-10. Once in our room and settled we rested up before
heading to Joe's Crab Shack on the Louisiana Boardwalk. It is
absolutely freakin gorgeous here, but extremely effin hot! Though
hot, it doesn't quite seem as humid here. Guess it's because we're
not as close to the ocean. There is so much shopping offered here, but
I gotta remind myself this is no vacay - also we don't have room in
the car and Lexie is back at the hotel waiting. In any case, I thought
I'd let you know we're safe. Let's hope the house remains that way as
well! Cross your fingers!

Hitting the road

Woke up at 3am this morning - my usual get up and pee time - so I woke
Ruben and asked if we should just go ahead and start getting ready to
leave. We laid and talked for a bit till we were good and awake then
got out of bed. He woke Danny and together they packed up the Durango.
Even with one of those hitch hauls we've got a pretty full load. We
have packed luggage for 4 plus an item or two for Lexie. We have 2
coolers and 2 gas tanks. Then we also have a container with all our
important docs, 2 cropper hopper picture holders, another container
filled with more pix, albums, hard drives, my mom's stuff - bags of
stuff Natalie packed up (toys, movies, games) - our laptops, one of
Ruben's PS3 (for movies), a portable DVD player with screen, all of
our cameras, my meds, our chargers and all our iPods except Ruben left
his in his truck. We have a couple little blankies and some pillows
and anything or everything else we could think off. Then we piled
into the packed car and hit the road. We've been driving for almost an
hour now. There's quite a bit of cars on the road but the drive thus
far has been moving right along. It's a good thing we left when we did
- which was about 4:30ish.
Ruben called the hotel last night and added on a day so we could check
in today rather than on Sunday - which is a miracle we got a room
since everything up to TN is booked plus the fact it is Labor Day
weekend.
All we can do now is hope and pray our house weathers the storm.
Please keep us in your thoughts.

Angi

"Whoever said winning isn't everything never had to fight cancer"

Http://scrapaddictnv2.blogspot.com/

Sent from my iPhone

Thank Goodness For Neighbors

Just as my panic hit the fan our neighbor Nina told us she found the
boards to our windows in her attic. Guess the old owners gave them
away to be used as scrap wood - which totally saved us as we have no
time to cut the plywood we just bought. It looks like most windows
will now have boards. We gave the plywood we just bought away to
neighbors across the street who have nothing.

Evacuaction looks to be mandatory

Gustav just WON'T go away - at least not yet - and according to all the models it looks as though this hurricane will be right on top of us come Tuesday. St. Charles Parish is calling so far for a mandatory evacuation come noon tomorrow. I just received an email from the school district that the school's will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Right now NONE of the scenarios look good for us, as the Westbank levees were not re-built after Katrina. They are not strong enough for a category 3 hurricane. I really, really love my house - and this news panics me to the core. I need a frozen margarita or a xanax. Ruben just told me that our shutters won't work. Luckily Danny and I just bought 15 4x8 sheets of plywood - but we're not sure if we have enough time to cut them and board up the lower windows - let alone have enough plywood for all the lower windows! I need to go do another load of laundry and begin packing. We need to pack a cooler....ah, so much to do and not enough time to do it in. Just breathe........

And I Thought Yesterday Was Bad.....

Today with Gustav threatening the Gulf, I've had to gather important documents - homeowner's policy, birth certificates, wills, tax records - and put them with my mother's & grandfather's ashes, my jewelry, our guns, hard drives and all my photos, so we can grab it all quickly in case we do end up having to evacuate. We have reservations already made for a week in Shreveport - which will cost us nearly as much as our monthly mortgage - plus all the additional costs - and those costs would really be through the roof if only we could get our hands on some lumber to board up our windows that don't have shutters. None of this is helping my anxiety - and the funniest thought of it all is that I literally have thousands of dollars worth of scrapbook supplies. I know that should be the least of my concerns, but I keep thinking what if my tree comes through my roof or the roof caves and everything gets soaked. All this prep work is eating away at my stomach. Today my acid reflux flared up as I called my prescription refill service to see about getting early refills on my meds. The taste of stomach acid is truly disgusting. It makes me wonder if all the yogurt I've been eating is somehow behind it? Hmmm.

It's a Sad, Sad Day.

At 6:45 am, I received a horrible email letting me know that an old friend - someone who was like family to me, passed away on Friday 22nd at 12:30am. This news immediately made me sick to my stomach, sent chills down my spine and made my heart ache.

You see, 17 years ago I moved to Hawaii after growing up in IL all my life. My newly acquired step-dad was in the Navy and had been transferred there. As soon as we stepped off the plane there was this group of ladies waiting for us with a sign bearing our last name. I thought for sure they had the wrong group, but as it turned out they were all wives of Navy Submariners assigned to the same sub my step-dad was going to. Immediately Rhonda become like a sister to me - I was only 17, she in her 30's near my own sister's age. She fit perfectly as friends for both myself and my mother. We often spent weekends at a bar on base - playing pool, knocking back test-tube shots (even though I was under-age) and listening to them all sing karaoke. 16 years ago when I was 18 I was in the hospital delivery room when she gave birth to her daughter. At the time I thought it would be the best form of birth control known to man, but instead after watching all the screaming, cursing, intense pain of natural child-birth - I saw this little baby girl that just seemed to make it all worth it. I often watched her kids. We were so close that even her 5 year old boy served as the ring bearer to my first marriage. But shortly after the wedding we ended up moving to IL and I lost touch. After I left, my sister had moved to HI to start a new life, and they wound up becoming very good friends.

After my first marriage failed, I moved to NV to live with my parents who moved there once my step-dad retired. Somewhere during that time R&D left HI and headed to the east coast. My sister and I often tried to re-gain touch with our long lost friend, when one day my sister hit the jackpot. It was shortly after that, about 11 years ago that my sister had emailed me and told me about the horrifying accident they had been in. They were lucky to be alive. The kids (now 3 of them) all walked away with very minor injuries. Her husband had some broken bones, but was otherwise okay. She suffered the worst, as the car t-boned them where she had been sitting. She didn't walk away from the accident, she wheeled. The accident left her paralyzed from the arms down. Because of her injury there was no way she'd ever walk again. But despite it all she remained so upbeat and positive. All she cared about was the fact that her kids were okay.

Over the years we managed to stay in touch as they moved further up the east coast, then to Reno - and as I moved from Vegas, to Elko. We missed each other in Northern Nevada, as shortly after my move there I was diagnosed with cancer and had spent most of my time in Vegas for treatment or recovering from various surgeries. She was no stranger to surgeries either. The accident had left her with many complications often needing hospital stays or surgery. Those 400 miles that separated us, may have kept us from seeing each other - but we were still close in heart. Then 2 years ago after my mother passed away, we moved to New Orleans - and I knew my chances of ever seeing her again became slim to none. She couldn't fly because of her condition, and for me life just always got in the way.

Last year she finally gotten approval to have gastric by-pass done. Being in a chair meant she could not exercise, and well, we just all can't be stick thin. Because of a shitty deal with the whole accident, she was mostly left with no-one but her own family to care for her - meaning her hubby had to get her in and out of that chair day in and day out. Not only would weight loss surgery be useful to him, but it would also help relieve many complications of her condition - such as bed-sores. She was very excited about the whole thing and was off to a great start.

Slowly I started hearing less and less from her. I often wondered if she had been experiencing more complications or if it were money problems that kept her from sending her positive, upbeat emails that she would often send. Many times I meant to call, but earlier this year my breast cancer returned and I underwent more surgeries, then daily radiation. Also the 2 hour time difference didn't help matters much. I deeply regret not finding the time to call and check on her. I may not have been able to provide any financial support, but I know from my personal experience with cancer, that a friendly ear is often the best form of therapy there is. I should have been there for her. I know that it probably wouldn't have changed the outcome, but at least I would have peace of mind knowing that she was not alone - that I did what I could, and that I had been there for her. But for the moment, like her, I will focus on the positive.

What I remember most about Rhonda was that she was a believer. She was positive and upbeat, even in the darkest days. When life handed her lemons, she made lemonade. She was funny, and thoughtful and kind. She had an infectious laughter about her, and she was a great person to know and to be around. I know for one, that I will miss her, as will her family.

Rest in peace Rhonda. You will be missed. On your way up, please tell my mom that I love and miss her.

So far behind.....

Lord knows that in between 3 major moves in that last 5 years, breast cancer twice in just 3 years, and life in general I am waaaayyyy behind on scrapbooking! My studio is a complete mess, and I am at a total loss on how to organize things properly - which I find so funny, cause anyone I used to work with could tell you that my desk & I were extremely organized! I just have so many die cuts, stickers, elements and other embellishments - and I don't know what to do with them. It has become so bad that even *I* have cut myself off from buying scrap stuff! Well the paper kind at least. LOL. One of my old circle chat buddies turned me onto digi-scrap freebies - and on occasion I end up buying certain kits that I fall in love with. Such as the one below.....the whole kit only cost me $3.00 and I didn't even use all of the pieces. Not bad eh? Though I must admit I also scrap-lifted the lay-out from my friend.

We Had Crabs.......

Boiled ones - with crab boil seasoning, corn cobblets, and red potatoes......and these aren't your Alaskan Crab legs or even Snow Crabs. These crabs are regional, just like the crawfish. You go buy how ever many you want and get your 5 gallon pot ready - fill it with water, seasoning, corn, potatoes and bring it to a boil and toss in the crabs, crawfish, shrimp or all 3. That there is what you call a boil and often it's a party. Or you do like we did today - Ruben was drafting his Fantasy Football League and had a couple co-workers over. One was nice enough to stop at this lil' place called the Seafood Pot over in Destreham and picked up up a dozen and a half crabs and a couple bags each of corn cobblets and potatoes. The other provided the shell crackers and taught me just how you take them apart and eat them - Ruben had already had the experience at work, so he knew what he was doing. I needed to be taught, as I'm not one to eat the lungs and inards of a crab. Once you crack them open it's hard to tell what is what - so it's always best to have knowledgeable help the first time around. I ended up having to go through like 5 crabs as Natalie really liked them as well - and of course Lexie got herself some too. It's a lot of work for just a little meat, but they are sooooo good - oh and the corn and potatoes are very flavorful and full of spice from the boil seasoning. Mmm, mmm, mmm! Now I don't know about actually having a boil as we'd first have to buy the pot - and that alone is upwards of $90 - then there's all the prep work....like crawfish have to be cleaned (put them in salt water, then rinse and repeat until the water is clear and no more mud in them - and it can take several cycles to prep them for the boil.) I'd much rather just buy them already prepared, such as today - though having a boil is a big deal. You usually invite many friends, have some beers, lay out the newspaper, and go to town - though it's work to do, it's all about the experience and the friends. But I'd say that our experience was just as nice and we skipped some of the hard work! Other than family, they were the first guests we've had in our house. Even the neighbors have not seen the whole house - cause it's often a mess, LOL - but we straightened up our "lived" in house quite a bit before they came cause we wanted it to at least look presentable.

So now out bellies are all full, our hands stink of crab stench and we're too tired to get up and go to the store - but it can wait till tomorrow. We're waiting to see what Tropical Storm Fay is going to do....if it gets worse it's upgraded to a full fledge hurricane....if it dies down, it's downgraded to a tropical depression. Let's hope for the later, cause it's pretty much heading this way. Right now they are saying it could be here as early as tomorrow night - but you know how weather changes and the weatherman is wrong half the time. So let's hope that's the case here cause I don't want my house or possessions to get all effed up. Hello, remember Katrina? C'mon Mother Nature, cut us a break - I think this city deserves it!

In other news I spoke with my brother today - just wanted to check up on him and see how he's doing these days. Usually it's impossible to get a hold of him since he works 2 jobs, but I managed to reach him this morning without a problem and all is well - which makes me happy! He said he's in need of some socks, which is do-able. We usually send him a care package of some clothes or shoes at least once a year. He struggles at times, and is the reason he works 2 jobs just so he can make ends meet. It's not really the life I want for him - but he's just not ready to give up Vegas and come live with us - even though it would pretty much mean living rent free. All I can do is wait till he's tired of working 2 jobs and is ready to retire. I wish my other brother who also lives in Vegas wasn't as selfish as he is - the asshole refused to him a $4 gallon of milk. At least my sister in Hawaii is happy to help out as much as she can. To some people family actually means something.

Anyway, I'm tired, I need more cold medicine, need to wash my hands - again, and I wanna put my pj's on and get comfy - maybe even lay in bed and watch a movie......ah, that sounds so nice!

A LO to share

Been feeling sick (damn sinuses!) and tired (still recouping from our visitor!) yet today I had a major creative bug up my ass. My scrap studio is a giant mess, so instead I resorted to digi-scrapping. It's basic, but creatively satisfying. Enjoy.

Weekend Round-up.......Life Back to Normal

For the last week we've been playing tourist with Ruben's cousin who was visiting from L.A. We shopped the Quarter, went to Audubon Park, toured Mardi Gras World, saw the Aquarium, viewed the plantation from many movies, and watched the 1st pre-season Saints football game. It was quite a busy week - we took many pictures (now posted on Flickr), ate some of the most amazing food, and had an awesome time enjoying the sites.
Saturday, Natalie decided she did not want to attend the pre-season game - so she stayed with some neighbors. She was having such a blast playing with their daughter that she decided to spend the night - which gave us the freedom to enjoy a late night out. It was a pretty big event as it was Natalie's 1st sleep-over at a friends house. When I got up in the morning I called to check on her - they had just began breakfast, so I told them to send her home when ever they got tired of her. Hours passed and still no sign of Natalie, so I called again to check on her and found that she was swimming with the other neighbors. I guess she was having so much fun she just didn't want to come home, but she had to after the swim so she could bath and get ready for school today.
It was a nice break to have all to ourselves, as Ruben's cousin had left first thing Sunday morning. I just have no idea how I will ever repay them. We'd take their daughter for a night, but she's afraid of our dog - which is funny cause she is totally harmless. I'm sure we'll figure something out.
So that was our week in a nutshell. Now we are just chilling at home - and back to trying to eat healthy.
Check out the 1000+ photos on Flickr

Go Saints!!!!!!

Natalie decided she didn't want to come so luckily one of our
neighbors agreed to watch her for the night. So needless to say I
won't be uploading any pix tonight. Oh well there's always tomorrow.

Yay pre-season football, yummy food and adult fun. Geaux Saints!!

Fishy Fishies

Yesterday after Mardi Gras World -we hit the Riverwalk and ate and
shopped. Then we went to the Aquarium. It was raining out so it was
nice and dry and cool inside.
Natalie and I pet stringrays and a baby shark. They had a lot to see
and do there - and not just ocean stuff but aquatic life from the
Mississippi as well as the Louisiana area. We all enjoyed it and I
have TONS of pix to upload to Flickr......if I ever get time.
Tonight Ruben has tix for a pre-season Saints game against the Houston
Texans. I'll be staying home while they go to the game. We only have 4
seats so I offered to stay at home so he can take his cousin who
leaves tomorrow. Besides. We're hoping/planning/trying to get 3 seats
for the game against Oakland Raiders in October. We need to find and
buy them soon before they become overly inflated. On the ticket
exchange, where you buy seats from season ticket holders - 3 tickets
are about $350 at the moment. I'm just waiting on my check so we can
buy them. Hopefully the price won't change before then - otherwise
he'll be going alone.

The Saints Are Coming......

This dude is going to London for a NFL game against the Chargers.

Krewe of Boo Voodoo Float

This halloween there's gonna be a mardi gras style parade. Here is one
of the many floats.

Blaine Kern's Mardu Gras World

Here's Natalie playing dress up in Mardi Gras attire.

The House That Ann "Built"

We visited Oak Alley Plantation today which is the plantation house
used in the movie "Interview with a Vampire".
When I get home later I will be sure to post the other pix to my
Flickr account. Right now we're on our way to Cracker Barrel for a
late breakfast. Yummmmmm.

Inside St. Louis Cathedral

Been playing tourist with Ruben's cousin while she's here visiting
from L.A.
Yesterday we hit the Quarter - shopped the open French Market while
braving the rain - which was niiiiice. The rain definitely cooled
things down. We saw Jackson Square, St.Louis Cathedral, shopped lots
and ate beignets....the staple of N'awlins.
Pictured is the inside of the cathedral.

Les Guitar

Here is Nat's guitar. I'm wondering if I should have gotten a bass instead of a 6 string......well I always have 60 days to sit and think about my purchase - though I don't recall a 4 string starter set. Hmm, decisions decisions. 

 

---

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Brainfreeze Good

Decided to treat myself. Been craving a frozen margarita for a while
now, but I'm sure this is chock full of calories. They are so easy to
get when the place has a drive thru - super convienant on a rainy day!
I saw my plastic surgeon today, because of my burn reconstruction is
on hold for another 3 months.....sigh.
I also bought Nat her guitar gear today. The shit cost me $440. Damn I
hope she rocks!

Hot Fun In The Summer Sun

Today we're at the country club swimming pool for one of Natalie's
neighborhood friends birthday party. She's in the pool staying cool
while we sweat our asses off under the pavillion. Today is sunny and
hot as a mutha effer. What happened to all the rain and cloud?

We've Got Air

We've had people looking at our air all week, and have gotten many estimates and opinions. The thought of spending upwards of $7000 to replace one makes me nauseous - especially when our current units are only 9 years old. Yesterday one of the technicians offered some strange advice - which was to turn the thermostat down to 75 (we normally keep it at 78 and suffered a $300 electric bill last month.) I guess that turning the air down is the best solution to help control the humidity - which has been relatively 50% and above. So I guess the unit has been working harder in an attempt to stay cool. The one thing that totally didn't make sense to us was replacing the unit with one the exact size and seer. So a friend sent over someone they know and he looked at everything, put in some freon and now it's cold again. YAY! Problem fixed for at least a little while - and it hardly costs us a thing! Even better!

Feeling Strange......

Today before leaving the house for a doctor appt., my daughter kissed
me - and I don't know if it was her kissing me or me kissing her, but
I felt a warm tingly sensation that reminded me of my mom. It felt
just like she kissed me or something. Once I got in the car my eyes
welled up with tears. It was quite a strange feeling.

So tell me, do you believe in angels or the lingering souls of those
who have passed?

Sent from my iPhone

Something I haven't seen in a long time!

I just don't understand how prices are down from $4 when there is
still spilled oil on the Mississippi.......
In any case, this makes me :)

What Now?

Today is the first day in like forever that my 3 o'clock time slot has been open. I'm not quite sure what to do to fill the void. Tomorrow I have a doctors appt. with Dr. R, then Friday & Saturday I have A/C people coming out to give estimates. Next week we meet Natalie's new teacher, then school starts on the 13th. Ruben's cousin is coming out from LA to visit next week, and I have sporadic doctors appts. through the 19th - but basically most days I am free....at least until I start chemo, which should be likely around the end of the month. With all this free time I'm not exactly sure what to do with myself - though I have a laundry list of items I should be doing. Such as organize my scrap studio once and for all - but I'm sure we'll be spending plenty of time this weekend cleaning up before Ruben's cousin comes. I have a HUGE pile of clothing to donate, which once gone will certainly clear some space!
But I think for today I will treat myself, as I just "graduated" from radiation. I wanted to get a frozen Margarita, but I knew it would blow all my efforts I've made thus far to change the way we eat and drink. So given that, even cake was out. So I think since I am sticking to a sensible eating plan, I'll instead enjoy myself by playing some guitar hero.

I graduated!

Finished my last radiation today. Here is the diploma they gave me.
Cool ain't it?

It's Hot, I'm Tired and I'm Cranky

It seems over the last month our upstairs a/c unit has been getting worse. First we tried going through the warranty company - but they kicked it back saying it's all pre-existing conditions.......well duh, we did buy our house this way! I can't help if they used a unit that was too small for the amount of square feet we have....and the way they designed the duct work was out of my control!

So today before I left for radiation, a provider for Home Depot came over to check things out. He agreed with some of the items the warranty contracted company wrote up - however he informed us that our unit is of the correct size, and there is something wrong with it - most likely the compressor. He wrote up an estimate of $7,100 to replace the unit and repair all the duct work or other issues found. Still I think $7,100 quite a large sum for only a 2 1/2 ton 13 seer unit! Needless to say my HD CC does not have a limit quite that high - and I'm not sure if I want to touch the HELOC or dip into our savings. We might be able to repair the unit with a new compressor - but first I need to figure out the best financial approach to this problem. Till I do, and we get it fixed or replaced it will remain only cool upstairs instead of COLD.

After radiation I went to the grocery store and stocked up on fruit, fish and yogurt. I'm fighting a big freaken headache right now cause I've DRASTICALLY cut back on caffeine. I've only had ONE soda today. Trying to cut out those empty calories and eat healthy. My day consists of small snack every 2-3 hours and LOTS of water. I feel so bloated, and I'm pissing like a pregnant woman. My bladder was not meant to hold 8 glasses of water!

Nailed!

A while ago Ruben was hit on his way to work. His truck was not really
damaged that much, but the lady that hit him effed her car up BAD! To
top it off, the accident happened in front of some cops - who ticketed
her for being at fault.
Well first thing Friday morning our doorbell rang - it was a cop
serving him a supeona cause this chick is suing the state. We're not
sure why or what side he's a witness for. Guess well find out come the
25th.

Then to top it off I got something in the mail from Jeff Parish. I got
nailed running a red light. They sent pix with $110 fine.....it just
happened last week on my way home from treatment. SHIT!!! This SUCKS!!!

Sent from my iPhone

Community EDU

Got the new Fall Community Education schedule the other day. They look to have a good variety this semester. So many good ones it's hard to choose.

First off there is a great course on book publishing, and another on writing for trade magazines and trade journals. It's taught by writer who has had over a dozen books published, as well as hundreds of articles......these both would be VERY useful courses for me to take to help get my book up and published and move on from writing blog Q&A's to magazines. Each course is $75 plus another $20 supply fee each. But the dates allow for attending both classes.

There a several classes I'd like to enroll Natalie in - but I have to check her interest, and the schedules first. Here are a few of the classes I'm considering:

Taekwondo for Juniors - $90 plus uniforms
Little Tennis - $70
CATZ Youth Fitness Program - $45
Wetland Express Mobile - $5 (mobile bus that brings swamp animals to teach kids about the importance of preservation)
And my fave.....
Acoustic & Electric Guitar for Beginners - $70 plus the cost of a guitar & amp (which you can get a beginner kit on eBay for less than $100).

I think the whole guitar course would be cool cause none of her friends have done it and I'd like her to be musically inclined. I think she would like learning the guitar, the Taekwondo course & the Wetlands bus.

What do y'all think?
I want a balance if interest, learning, and activity. If I don't sign up by the 31st, we may miss the boat and the courses may not be offered next semester.

What a Day.......

My day started off poorly with a major iTunes flub. I went to delete duplicates, as I saw that there were several repeats of some songs - and somehow in the process I lost over 2,000 songs. In the process of trying to find them (they were located in two separate folders, one on another drive) trying to fix tags, and d/l new songs; I found that time got away from me. I ended up spending 5+ hours just to update Natalie's Nano & my iPod....and that was not even enough time to finish the job. We'll likely have to "delete" all the music, then pull it out of the folders and place it back into iTunes - then formulate playlists for Ruben, Natalie and myself. It was all rather frustrating!

When I finally made it out of the house to head to radiation, I found that it was a torrential DOWNPOUR of rain! I get to the bridge, and while my side was clear, I noticed that traffic was severely backed up on the other side. Seems there was an accident that took out a 6' section of railing - the railing that separates you from the Mississippi. The accident happened around 8am, and as Ruben drove home at 5:30 one lane was still closed. I had ended up coming home a different route, as it was still closed when I was done with radiation.
Speaking of radiation.....I'm not exactly sure what has happened, all I can do is chalk it up to new math, because by my calculations I'm not done till August 11th - I'm doing 31 sessions, but as the tech told me today I only have 2 left, so my last day is TUESDAY - YAY!!!!!!! That will give me sufficient time for my burn to ease up just in time to meet my new chemo doc - or at least I hope it will!

I'm sitting here watching the news, and our 7 day forecast is 92 and rainy every day except Sunday. Damn I'm tired of this rain! They also said the Coast Guards been working on that oil spill that happened over a week ago, and so far they have cleaned up about 100,000 gallons of the 419,000 spilled. Jeez, at this rate it will take MONTHS to clean up!

And finally, in honor of updating my iPod and rocking out half the day. In Lora fashion, below is a list of a few songs that randomly popped up that are not just my favorites, but ones I had to replay a few times just because it takes so long for them to come back around. I need to work on tagging my songs better, so I can listen more efficiently! People on the road today must have thought I was nuts the way I was singing and dancing in my Durango!

Finger Elven - Paralyzer
Fave lyrics: I'm not paralyzed but I seem to be struck by you I want to make you move Because you're standing still If your body matches What your eyes can do.

Buckcherry - Crazy Bitch (Dirty Version - so NSFW!)
Fave lyrics: You're a crazy bitch But you fuck so good I'm on top of it When I dream I'm doing you all night Scratches all down my back,
You're crazy but I like the way you fuck me.

Lustra - Scotty Doesn't Know (from Eurotrip video with Matt Damon as singer)
Fave lyrics: Scotty doesn't know That Fionna and me Do it in my van every Sunday She tells him shes in church But she doesn't go Still shes on her knees.

Fort Minor - Remember the Name
Fave lyrics: This is 10% luck 20% skill 15% concentrated power of will 5% pleasure 50% pain And a 100% reason To remember the name.

Music Day

This morning when Natalie woke up she promptly informed me that her iPod Nano wasn't working. We've had this problem before with it - last time it just needed an update, and it seemed it did this time s well. I kinda egret not just getting her a regular one after all the update issues we've had! Through the course of downloading and installing the update, all the misc was lost. This sucks. We have a pretty large music library - though nothing like Lora's - and we each have our own folder, so it makes syncing easier...instead of having 3 accounts. Well her folder is empty so I will be spending most of my day filling it up, as well as re-vamping mine cause I'm d/l new music. Lora had turned me on to this free DJ Music Mashups, which you can find the links for here to download yourself f you so choose.

I'm also thinking of doing another blog - it's not like I have all this free time, it will just be a lil pet project to see if I can get it off the ground and get others involved. It's called Tales From Our Scales. I'm hoping for it to be a weight loss experience for all to participate in.

So I'm sure y'all want to know about my doctor visit yesterday. One word DISASTER! I had only met with this guy one time, and I recall then that I spent FOREVER waiting and yesterday was no exception. I waited an 1 1/2 hours for him cause the DUMBASS took his 12:00 patient AHEAD of ME, his 11:30! Then to top it off he was just a major egotistical prick - and spent a grand total of 15 minutes with me. He's had my records since April, he's gotten updates from ALL my doctors and yet with ALL this INFO he could not tell me what treatment plan he was going to give me - even though he's had MONTHS! I was livid. The man knows I am almost complete with radiation - my last day is August 11th. He should know how long I need to go and what cocktail I should get, ESPECIALLY since I've had chemo before nd that plays a HUGE role in what drugs he CAN give me. I was LIVID. He told me I wouldn't find better doctor...wanna bet? His medical group has an office over here on the Westbank that Dr. Black does not practice in. It will also be somewhat closer for me to get chemo at. So yesterday I made an appointment with someone who has a good reputation for having a good bedside manner, and arranged for my records to be transferred. I will see Dr. K on the 19th - which is okay cause I was told that I will need to wait for this burn to clear up some before I can even start chemo.

Ok, so here I am going through iTunes - I'm d/l songs, trying to fix tags and I just realized I've been doing this since 7am and I'm nowhere close to being done. I haven't even synced. I think I'm trying to do too much at once - so I guess it's back o the tunes....gotta get this iPods loaded up soon.

Happy Friday!