A New Machine

This has been a week of long meetings.  A long one on Tuesday and another one on Wednesday.  I left school just in time to meet Ken at church for dinner.  Then we attended the short business meeting.  I started for home tired and trying to convince myself it was okay to go home.  I didn't make it, I turned back to head for the gym.  I went and worked out.  I was glad I went.  I went today and rode the bike.  Thank you Laura.  She is a good friend.  She keeps me going.
Last Friday, after my Dr. appointment we went and looked at new embroidery machines.  I found one I really really want.  I will be trading in my current one.  I think it will happen on Saturday!  Yahoo!  I will be having fun with all the things it can do.  I can't wait!

Elliptical

Okay, I decided to try the elliptical thingy.  Oh my gosh!  I was on it for 3 whole minutes and I almost fell off once!  My heart was beating!  I was about out of breath. How do people do this???  I see a colleague, Kendall, often on it!  Wow!  She has my respect! I bow to her ability to stay on the dang thing!  So I went over to do more than nod and wave high.  She can talk while she is making it move!  Wow!  I am so impressed and in awe of you Kendall.

Orthopedic Appointment

I worked out at lunch on Thursday.  I like doing that because then it is over for the day.  I left school and got the ingredients for the decadent cookies I was planning on making for the cookie exchange at sorority.  My sister gave me the recipe and they turned out to be so good.  I got the cookies made just in time for sorority.  It was so much fun.  All these different cookies and recipes!  We played dirty Santa and all the gifts were aprons.  So many different aprons!  What a great time we had. 
Friday our neighborhood went to Choctaw for the land run re-enactment.  So many things to do and see.  It turned out to be a bit hot and there was need of more water.  The buses went back to Shawnee and I went with Ken to my Dr. appointment in OKC.  The PA and the Dr. were very happy with my progress.  They said I looked like I was 4 months out of surgery instead of just 2.  He was very happy with my exercise regimen.  I have to go back in 2 months.  Rats!  I thought I would be done with him.


Andrea ended up with the apron I made.

 Today Ken and I have been doing errands and messing around the house.  I have made some cookies.  A movie  caught us and we watched it. Then out to Tecumseh Lake. 



"I like you" Mack said.



Pills

Another great day at school.  We will finish our unit on Oklahoma with a field trip to a land run re-enactment in Choctaw.  I think it will be a great trip for all.  I rode the bike with Laura.  Thanks for going Laura.  I really appreciate you.  Then, I picked Ken's dad up and we went to the church for dinner.  It was a lasagna dinner.  Yummy!  My plan was to make cookies for tomorrow night.  I am so tired that I am changing plans.  I will bake after school before the meeting.  I am so tired.  Ken brought in a couple of loads of kindling and is now starting a fire.
Funny thing.  Unfortunately, I take a lot of medicine and don't have an issue swallowing the pills all at once.  When my radiation was over the medicine started tasting like chemo smelled to me.  So, I was hating taking my morning medicine.  Now that I have started taking the 5 year pill my pills don't taste funny anymore.  Weird.  Oh well, it is what it is.

Starting Week Four

Today I started week 4 of my new life.  I have started my 4th week of getting 30 minutes of exercise each weekday.  I am stepping it up by adding to the speed and incline on the treadmill and adding to the resistance on the bike.  After I exercised I went back to the rent house and did some more painting.  I got hot, sweaty, and tired.  Ken works so hard and I am feeling so much better that I decided to try to help him by painting.  I am so thankful that I can do this, but not enjoying the hot and sweaty part.
Thursday night at sorority we are having a cookie exchange.  My sister, Janet, gave me a cookie recipe.  I will make it Wednesday night.  We are also doing an apron exchange (like dirty Santa).  I bought the cutest material in TX for the apron.  I got that made Saturday.  It is really cute.  I am tired.

Great Saturday!

What a great day I had yesterday.  When I woke I got p and went out to do my walk from Friday that I missed.  Wow!  I sure surprised myself.  It would of been easy to say oh well I missed that day, but I didn't.  Did my walk and I was pleased with the world!  When I got home Ken wanted to go out for breakfast.  We ate at one of our favorite breakfast spots and planned our day.  We went to Lowe's for supplies.  I dropped him off at home so he could go to the house he is painting.  I went to the rent house to paint.  I had almost finished cutting in the hall and the living room when he came by to check on me.  I was getting a bit fatigued from using a ladder and decided I would roll it and finish for the day.  While he was there we checked my phone for updates on Haley's ride from Houston to Austin.  She sent pictures and several updates.  Go Haley!  I finished rolling the walls and cleaned up and left.
That took me about 4 hours.  Now I was ready to move on to another project, I would see later if one coat of paint would be enough.  So, I put together a quilt top that I am working on.  Now I just have to get material for the back.  That took a couple of hours.
Back upstairs to the closet issue.  I have been working on the closet for about 3 weeks off and on.  I have gotten rid of about 4 bags of things, 3 of them mine.  I started on Ken's shirts, he is not happy about that.  Now if you have ever seen him, you understand why I have no faith that he will get into the large shirts and why if they aren't a tall they need to go away.  (Those are the newest looking shirts in his closet)
We caught up with Ken's dad for dinner.  We chatted with him and found out what has happened since last Thursday.  Ken's sister, Cleo, was with her grand baby, which is why he wasn't busy.  What a great day doing some productive things and ending the day with good company!  My favorite way to spend the day.
Off to church!  God bless us all.

Finally Friday

Last Friday, I decided to quit wearing hair and just wear a hat.  The kids at school were very accepting of the change.  Today for some reason I decided to wear hair.  Wow!  Talk about windy, I had to hang on to my hair.
Janet, my sister, called when school was out with bad news.  I was so glad she waited until the end of the day.  She told me that All My Kids was quitting.  I still have a hard time adjusting to the idea of no more All My Kids.  When I lived in Germany my mom taped it for me 3 days a week, for 3 years.  I have a great Mom!  Thank you, Mom.
I went on Wednesday to get waxed.  While I was there I asked Janice if there was anything that could be done with my hair.  I didn't think so, but it didn't hurt to ask.
Almost all the steri strips have fallen off my incision.  By Friday, when I go back to the doctor, they will probably be off.  I can put my sock and shoe on now.  I am walking good.  I think my appointment will go fine and I won't have to go back.
Haley, my daughter, who lives in Houston is in a bike ride Saturday and Sunday.  She will ride to Austin to benefit MS.  I am so proud of her.  She has put so many hours into riding.  What an exciting event for her.  She is an inspiration for me.
I am glad it is the weekend.  I have a lot of projects I want to work on.  I got the taxes ready and Ken got them in the mail this week, so that isn't on my list of projects.  Thankfully, that is over.

Laughing

Yesterday was bunco night.  It was at my house and I had to rush home to ready things.  We didn't have full tables, but we sure had fun.  Some of the oddest things come up during bunco.  Laughing is good medicine and we all seem to get a big dose during bunco night.  I knew I was going to be pushed for time so I went and walked during lunch.  It felt good to have worked it in.
Today my neighbor across the hall joined me and we rode bikes.  It went fast.  Thank you Laura, I love it when you join me.  I am still feeling sore when I sit or get up from sitting.  I don't remember this feeling lasting this long.  I am going to step up a bit on the walking and riding.  I want to be healthier, and I am making the choice to be healthier.  It is getting a little easier to work in exercise.  I plan to talk to the Dr. about looking forward to walking in a 5K.  I would like to know what would be a reasonable timeline. Then I will research when and where and see how many friends and family I can involve for support.  Watch out, I am planning!

So Much To Do

Thursday was a whirlwind.  I met Laura for exercising after school.  Thank you Laura.  We walked and talked, it was great!  I went by the house and let the dog out, weighed in at ww (-1.2 by the way), bought a gift for my secret sister, called my father-in-law to move old man night from 6 to 5, ate with my hubby and his daddy, went back by the house for sorority bag, rushed back to school to award pizza dinners to the perfect attendance winners, and then rushed to a sorority meeting.  Wow!  What a full day. 
Friday was a bit better.  It was a treatment day.  I thought ahead because I knew I wouldn't feel like exercising after I got herceptin, so I rode the bike at lunch.  That felt wonderful to be done with it so early.  2 full weeks of exercise.  I like that I am making a good choice for me about me. 
We went to TX for a big birthday party.  We celebrated 5 birthdays with a day of 3 soccer games and a family cookout.  We were at Kayla and Steve's house and even though it was very hot out only a few brave souls got into the pool.  Steve grilled burgers, but my favorite was the grilled onions, yummy.  Others contributed with baked fries, green beans, and birthday cake.  We enjoyed the grandchildren.  There were 5 ranging from 2-8.  They were happy, loud, creative, fun, and so lovable!  The best of times! 
We are home, safe, and tired from the busy weekend.  Now it is time to look forward to next week.  At school we will start a two week unit on Oklahoma, I will host bunco tomorrow night, the laundry bins are full, and I think we need groceries.

What a day.  I had a plan, but things didn't go like I thought they would.  I went to my Dr. appointment.  It was a follow up to see if my skin was healing.  As far as I was concerned it was a non appointment.  If I was having skin problems I would of contacted them.  My skin looks good and my breast is still peeling.  The swelling is about gone.  There is still no feeling in part of my breast, my arm pit, and the inside of my upper arm.  When I raise my arm it feels like I am stretching my skin.  I think I will live with the numbness on the inside of my arm from my elbow to my underarm.  I can do that!
I went back to school for a meeting.  I didn't plan on the meeting lasting as long as it did or the conversations that happened after the meeting.  I also forgot my hat.  I went home and let, Rusty, the big red dog out, got my hat, and went to church for dinner.  Ken was painting so I got his dinner to go.  Then I went to ride the bike.  I was very concerned I wouldn't get it in.  Then off to get a birthday present for a birthday girl. 
I was coming out of the store thinking how tired I am, then I saw a man without a hand and I decided I wasn't quite as tired.  I spoke to God and told him how grateful I am for all he has given me. 
Oh, good news!  I put my socks on by myself today.  The right leg is tricky, but I did it!  Things just keep getting easier. Daily ring toss with my underwear games will soon be over as well.

Fried Okra

What a great day.  I walked and lifted weights after school today.  It was our "out to lunch day" and I had a yummy bar-b-que ham sandwich and fried okra.  The okra is probably not a good choice, but I loved it.  I am trying not to eat just because it is there.  We had some fun size 3 Muskateers bars for snacks at school.  I ate two without thinking about it.  I am really not partial to them, but they were there.  So, I got rid of them for snacks today.  Parents should only send in things I don't like. 
Ken is painting a house.  So, I am getting to cook.  It is "old man night" and I was short on time so I made spaghetti.  It was edible, but not as good as what Ken cooks. 
I am really sleeping great!  I even tried to sleep on my right side.  It was okay, but I can use a little more time to be really comfortable without a lot of adjustments.  Now, my left side is easy to get all comfy without lots of adjustment.  I lay down squinch up my pillow and I am out.  I am loving it!

Week 2

Week 2 toward my new healthier life!  Yaa Hoo!  I rode the bike for 30 minutes today.  I watched Oprah, Donald Trump and his family were on today.  I have figured out the more interesting the show the faster the time goes.  I had a great day and I am glad I spent 45 minutes on my future.  So, that is 6 days down and 15 to go to a habit for life. 

Two Days Off

I really didn't feel like it, but I did it.  I walked 30 minutes on Friday.  My feet were really tired.  I am beginning to wonder if I need to get a new pair of shoes.  I was glad I went and walked because it made me feel good about myself.  Then I took my embroidery machine to the city for cleaning and adjustment.  (Oh how I would love to upgrade.)  I got back in Shawnee in time to go by and get lots of folders for school free.  So cool!  I got pretty colors and lots for my friends in my neighborhood and probably more.  I did call and make sure my neighbors wanted them.  I do think they will be surprised by how many I got and by the colors.  Ken painted while I did all that.  Then we ate out.
I took Saturday and Sunday off from exercising.  I will continue on Monday with riding a bike.  My neighbor and friend Laura said she might be ready to go with me.  Yeah!
On Wednesday, I have an appointment with the radiation doctor.  It is just a follow up from radiation.  The doctor was sick last Wednesday.  I have herceptin on Friday, I think.  My schedule is all messed up.  This too shall pass!