Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part II -GAGWTA!

[snappy]

I'm shopping in my p.j.s...bought this today. I love pink stuff!

Laura, forgot to tell you how much I love that purse.

I bought a pink leather purse back in 2005. I found a cool Stone Mountain leather purse that was a pink ribbon number. It was still sitting with a lot of overlooked purses in the purse department of a Mcrea's store that was going out of business at the mall. I bought a lot of things at that store during the weeks right be fore it closed. It was right after Katrina and it took literally an hour to travel over to place during rush hour where DD17 had swim team practice every day. It is right across from the mall. So I would go early before rush hour, shop for an hour or so, then pick up DD and her friend.

It cost me a lot but I got some unbelievable bargains including the only nightgown I am comfortable in right now.

I know that purse was under $10 and I got Speedo bathing suits for me for $2 each. Love a bargain.

 

[snappy]

GAGWTA

How is your new little friend doing this morning, Laurie?

We've been busy once again planning and resuming home renovations. We have so many it's kind of overwhelming. Watching HGTV is inspirational, though. DH has been watching it a lot which surprises me, but hey, won't complain. Still working on cleaning out the cellar and attics (we have two). It'll be easier now that the weather's about to turn and we can have a big yard sale. I'm convinced this is a huge part of it. Getting rid of the crap you accumulate over the years. I'm excited about it. We've been really happy with the living room renovations we did last year.

Current plans are to blitz through the bedrooms with fresh paint, doors and lighting. (Have cleaned them all out this winter.) Then we're going to do the kitchen. Basically new paint, lighting and some rearranging - we're removing one set of cabinets which jut out and replacing them with an island near the same spot but which will improve the flow. Our ceramic tile floor is still in great shape so we're keeping it. Cabinets will be white IKEA and will go where the old ones were. Any thoughts on countertops are welcome - that's the only part we're undecided about. The new island comes with an oak countertop and we're considering oak all around. We're also considering granite/granite tile/ceramic tile/corian and silestone (which I don't know much about). Did I miss anything? We are here to stay so we're not doing it for "resale value"; OTOH we want something we really like. The house is a multilevel ranch and our renovations are not high end. Rather, DIY but nice, fresh and new.

After the kitchen we're going to re-do our deck and build a screen porch. (We have a screen porch there now but it's seasonal and the roof needs to be replaced anyway.) We considered a sunroom but like the screen porch; we're going to make it so that we can put panels where the screens are during the winter so we can keep the rug and furniture out there and store boots hats, mittens and such.

Then we're heading to the family room, our largest room. I wanted a "barn like" feel with brick and wood and I think we finally figured out how to accomplish that. It'll be a lot of work but really nice when it's done. Then the bathroom off the family room and a storage room and we're ready to move outside, where the fence needs replacing and we have to update our landscaping. We also need new windows and interior doors all around which DH will do.

Whoa, I'm tired already.

You guys are very industrious. These plans sound fabulous. I especially like the family room idea. I love the look of brick in wood, two very popular design features in upscale houses in B.R.

I too need to do a lot. I would love to hear what people think of the countertops too. I am also trying to decide between refinishing our solid oak cabinets circa 1980's or replacing them. Also, changing tile floor for brick floors. I am also totally unsure what to do about countertops.

For us this may have to wait a while though. It really depends on which college DD17 ends up at. We may need most of our discretionery income for tuition. LSU would be such a good financial choice. I know she is being influenced by her boyfriend's choices. If they break up before May 1st, LSU may be back on the front burner.

 

[snappy]

Hoping to hear updates from Shaymaraysmom and Dawn.

How are you ladies?

I am sorry I got everyone so off topic with the puppy stuff.

You both are in my thoughts.

Laurie

 

[MerryPoppins]

Are you sure he didnt have one of those tiny boom mics on? [/QUOTE]

No. In that huge auditorium, he sounded a little muffled because he was so far away from us. It definitely was not coming through the speakers. But you could clearly hear every word. We were way up in the top and everyone looked at each other and mouthed "wow!" I also liked that at the very end of the concert he thanked us. He told us that without his fans he could not be living his dream...that he owed it all to us. I didn't get the "big head" vibe that you sometimes get from performers.

Naj makes me think of a cross between Nala and Rajah. What was the girl lion in Lion King 2? Was it Kiara? That's kind of pretty. She does look sort of exotic. Bear is cute. I was thinking maybe you could go with a ___ bear, like Pooh Bear, Br'er Bear, or Padington Bear, but they all seem to be male don't they? In the Country Bear Jamboree at WDW, they have Teddi Barra (the one who comes out of the ceiling on a swing), Trixie (in the tutu), and the trio Bunny, Bubbles and Beulah. Teddi Barra might be a cute play on Bear? I'm sure whatever you come up with will fit in the end.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Laurie, I was on dinner break when I posted about the puppy but I wanted to say afterward I love how both your DD and the pup have that beautiful red hair! Hope things are going well. Too bad DH doesn't like Taj, it's so unique. Girls may have to overrule on this one.

My pocketbooks choices are driven by my camera needs. Which translates into "far from fashionable" LOL. My current bag has rubber on the bottom (like tire treads ) but it stands alone when I set it down therfore I love it!

I got my new camera yesterday and I'm I will need a whole separate bag for this monster with its lenses and other paraphernalia. That's what I get for hanging out with those nuts on the PB (no offense to Amy and Sha).

Of course I dropped my car off at the dealership for a few "little things" this morning (you should see the clunker they loaned me to get home) and they just hit me with the $1000 bill. Holy Cow! Good thing I bought the camera before I knew about that one. Jeesh. Looks like I'll be working some extra shifts this spring.

Yes, please tell us about your countertops. We're leaning toward either granite or ceramic tiles. Let's hear your stories please, ladies. We need to know!

Thinking of all our friends in treatment and elsewhere in their journeys. GAGWTA.

 

[MerryPoppins]

We're leaning toward either granite or ceramic tiles. Let's hear your stories please, ladies. We need to know!

I have no experience with either, but think they're both beautiful. I seriously considered tile when we were thinking of building, but a friend who had it hated it. She said it was hard to keep the grout clean. If you spilled certain things it had a tendency to discolor. Sorry I'm not more help.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I have no experience with either, but think they're both beautiful. I seriously considered tile when we were thinking of building, but a friend who had it hated it. She said it was hard to keep the grout clean. If you spilled certain things it had a tendency to discolor. Sorry I'm not more help.

I've been reading lots of opinions and it seems people either love em or hate em. We're willing to give them a try and see what happens. We currently have formica so I imagine either choice will look much better. (I also remind myself it's a fairly small kitchen so we don't have to be locked into our choices forever if we really don't like them - one of the nice things about going with tile instead of slab too.) I was thinking ceramic tile because we're keeping our ceramic tile floors and I thought I could get something that would pull in the colors of that with the walls and cabinets. OTOH the granite would sparkle and look nice too. I think I'll know the right one when I see it whichever one we go with. I'm not really a huge granite person but one I saw caught my eye the other night. It was black (again, not really me) but had sparklies thoughout. Something about it reminded me of Epcot. How much you wanna bet we keep going back to that one, LOL. I tend to do that - find something early on and keep going back to it.

We were going to do one wall of brick (tile), on the biggest wall in the room (no windows) the one you face as you enter the room. On the other walls (which have windows) we were going to use the wainscoting which we used upstairs all the way up the walls so as to give it a barnlike feel. One of those window walls already has built in bookcases on the whole top half of the wall which we'll keep. The furniture is denim like so I think that will look cool. I like carpet since that room tends to be chilly so I'll go with something commercial-ly which looks good with the rest of the choices, probably a brownish. The carpet I chose upstairs I like but once I put it in I realized I probably should have picked one shade lighter since it shows up dog hairs and any specs on the floor. Oh well, I do like it. Not sure if I ever posted a pic (never actually took pics of the whole room).

Here you can see the colors of the living room and the wainscoting and carpet. This room is next to the kitchen and will have the same thing brought over - ie color and wainscoting. Floor tile in the kitchen is medium dark gray. Cabinets will be white with wrought iron fixtures, we like wrought iron and have bits and pieces of it throughout the house (such as the thing holding the baskets from the ceiling, candle holders hanging over the fireplace and even legs of the end tables). Ideas are welcome.

PS those plaques hanging above the lamp are from France from a friend of mine who travels there a lot.

 

[Sha]

Hey everyone... there is some info that was incorrect on my friend Emily's daughter, Nicole. She has days to a couple weeks. I talked to my sister who now works with Emily and said that Emily is just now staying with Nicole 24/7 vs just overnight (started this week) So granted the outcome is not a pleasant one, especially for them, please keep them in your prayers. Her children are 4 and 2... and Nicole is 25. Thanks so much!!! My sister will tell Emily about the extra prayers she said.

 

[laurabelle]

Praying for the peace that passes all understanding...

 

[Sha]

Praying for the peace that passes all understanding...

Thanks.... Im really getting upset about it, because Nicole is so young and the kids, even though I didnt know her as well as I do her mom... and that is why I think I am more upset, is knowing how torn up Emily is. She was one of my preceptors at my job when I went through transition and I can only fathom a small portion of what she must feel, and I dont think I have even .1% of still knowing what it is like for her.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

GAGWTA Ladies!

My thoughts go out to Nicole.
Very cute dog, Laurie! I like Snappy. Easy for you to remember too, LOL.

Ok, so I FINALLY had my Breast MRI!!
I was scheduled for the MRI yesterday at a facility around the corner from my house. I showed up, they put the IV in first, and THEN took me to the machine, which was older and looked tight from the outside. Prior to making the appt., I had asked what type of machine it was and explained my claustrophobia and how my plus-size figure would probably play a role in how I would fare in the machine. No worries they said. Well, I fit in the thing just fine, but my head felt like a squashed melon. Not a comfortable feeling for a claustrophobe. I told them it was not going to work (after 2 attempts) and they understood. A lovely nurse then took me aside and referred me to the competition across the street. They have a machine twice as big she said! I was able to set something up for this morning.

I walked into the radiology group this morning and when I saw the beautiful Siemens Open Bore MRI, I knew it was the one, LOL! It took me a while to psych myself up but I got in and did it! It really wasn't bad at all. Time flew by and before I knew it it was over. Glad that's over with!

Tomorrow I see the new plastic surgeon. I am optimistic about this meeting. I cancelled the f/u appt. with the first one. As expected, his office staff asked why I wasn't coming back and the answer I gave them was "he was not the right fit." The woman wanted me to elaborate, and even asked who I have decided to go with, but I opted not to tell her. I don't need to explain my decisions to anyone. That felt awfully good!

Hope everyone has had a good day!

Dawn

 

[Sha]

I am glad to hear that they referred you to the other. They just dont seem to listen sometimes to when you say "I dont like closed in spaces" or the comfort. Am so glad. And that sounds like a thing to ask for "do you have the Siemens Open Bore MRI??"

 

[snappy]

Praying for the peace that passes all understanding...

I sure love that saying. Is it from anything in particular, the Bible or some classic?

Keeping Nicole and her family in my prayers.

Dawn, I am glad you found that open MRI, and I am glad it is over. ow are you feeling?

Linda, your colors are very nice. Your dog looked like she was posing for you, LOL.

My mom has tile on her kitchen countertops, the same as on the floor. She is very neat, lives alone so not much mess. Her grout is grey which is probably what you would use if you already have grey on the floor. Grey is the best color for avoiding discoloring although I guess red wine, grape juice or the like could do a number on it. The secret is in the sealing I guess.

I have white tile and white grout in my 3 bathrooms and in the master shower. They are a bear to keep clean. We have to regrout occasionally as the cleaning eventually wears it down, and that is when trouble strikes as the dirt gets in between and you can't get it out. My new cleaning lady (she starts Friday. . yea!) said one of the ladies she cleans for uses the Clorox pens.

What I do from time to time is make a paste with bleach and baking soda and lather it on. If you leave a while, you don't have to scrub. It is a bit messy though.

Thanks for the compliments on my two redheads. Well, Naj is more brownish red. DD12's hair is the reddest I have ever seen. You could not see it much in the pics as she had such a busy weekend all she did for her party was put it up in a pony tail. But that lily white skin was not a function of the flash being too bright, she is so white the 25ish secretary at work asked me, no offense but is she what an albino for white people looks like. ???

Ah the stories I could tell y'all about this girl and her escapades. I was never such a wild one when I was young.

I think the training is progressing. We still have accidents, although none in the crate after the first night (we did not know to get up during the night with her that first night). She has gone many times outside. Maybe two accidents all day.

 

[lookingforward]

GAGWTA Ladies!

My thoughts go out to Nicole.
Very cute dog, Laurie! I like Snappy. Easy for you to remember too, LOL.

Ok, so I FINALLY had my Breast MRI!!
I was scheduled for the MRI yesterday at a facility around the corner from my house. I showed up, they put the IV in first, and THEN took me to the machine, which was older and looked tight from the outside. Prior to making the appt., I had asked what type of machine it was and explained my claustrophobia and how my plus-size figure would probably play a role in how I would fare in the machine. No worries they said. Well, I fit in the thing just fine, but my head felt like a squashed melon. Not a comfortable feeling for a claustrophobe. I told them it was not going to work (after 2 attempts) and they understood. A lovely nurse then took me aside and referred me to the competition across the street. They have a machine twice as big she said! I was able to set something up for this morning.

I walked into the radiology group this morning and when I saw the beautiful Siemens Open Bore MRI, I knew it was the one, LOL! It took me a while to psych myself up but I got in and did it! It really wasn't bad at all. Time flew by and before I knew it it was over. Glad that's over with!

Tomorrow I see the new plastic surgeon. I am optimistic about this meeting. I cancelled the f/u appt. with the first one. As expected, his office staff asked why I wasn't coming back and the answer I gave them was "he was not the right fit." The woman wanted me to elaborate, and even asked who I have decided to go with, but I opted not to tell her. I don't need to explain my decisions to anyone. That felt awfully good!

Hope everyone has had a good day!

Dawn[/QUOTE\]

The seimens open MRI is exactly what I had. I am beyond clastrophopic and it was not bad at all! I am so glad you found one

Good luck with your plastic surgeon appt!

I am having chemo number 4 tomorrow. I am fighting a cold so its not going to be a fun weekend but I am encouraged by the fact that my LAST treatment will be over in six weeks. 43 more days...but whose counting!

I am now completely bald...I held up my baby picture and besides some wrinkles around my mouth I look remarkably the same.

Heres my countdown: 43 days till chemo is over, three months till radiation is finished...six months till I can retire my wig, one to two years on tomoxofin, five years on the post-menapause meds (I forget the name)....and if my hot flashes ever stop I'll be one happy camper.

Gotta go, I am getting another hot flash.....

 

[laurabelle]

Thanks.... Im really getting upset about it, because Nicole is so young and the kids, even though I didnt know her as well as I do her mom... and that is why I think I am more upset, is knowing how torn up Emily is. She was one of my preceptors at my job when I went through transition and I can only fathom a small portion of what she must feel, and I dont think I have even .1% of still knowing what it is like for her.

I sure love that saying. Is it from anything in particular, the Bible or some classic?

Laurie it's from the Bible. Here are a couple of different versions of the verse I am praying for Nicole and her family...

Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version)
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

 

[Sha]

Laurie it's from the Bible. Here are a couple of different versions of the verse I am praying for Nicole and her family...

Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version)
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

I think that is one I can use in this last semester of school too.... thank you for the prayers for Nicole....

 

[laurabelle]

~~~***GAGWTA sistas***~~~

Dawn- Yay! Your MRI story put a smile on my face! I at this:

I walked into the radiology group this morning and when I saw the beautiful Siemens Open Bore MRI, I knew it was the one, LOL!

You're doing great! When I fired my first surgeon I had myself all worked up about the phone call to cancel my appt. but I decided that I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to, ok, within reason, life's too short!

lookingforward- Everyone told me I looked like my baby daughter when I was bald! Not me as a baby, her, lol! She barely had any hair the first two years. Oh yeah, and my mom kept saying what a nicely shaped head I have...lol

Linda- Hubby and I are pretty sure we are going to do white Ikea cabinets too! I can't think of the style name we picked...which one are you getting? I can't decide on counter tops either. We don't want to overspend, but thought there was no way we would do formica, but our neighbor has a remodeled kitchen with formica and it really looks good. I'm leaning towards black. We need to do the floors too, not sure what we'll get for that yet. I don't know when we are going to do it, I really want to be sure in my mind about my choices first.

Two weeks from today! The kids and I are flying in first. Hubby has a gig then he's flying in Sat. afternoon. I got a free day car rental from National, I only pay some teeny tax so it ends up costing me $2.69! We'll pick up the car and stop off at the grocery store, check in at POFQ then go to Epcot. They must be expecting record crowds as the park hours at MK have just been extended with EMH every morning at 7:00 and most nights they close at 1:00, and that's regular hours, not EMH! But we use Tour Guide Mike and know how to make it work so we will turn this into this!

 

[laurabelle]

I think that is one I can use in this last semester of school too.... thank you for the prayers for Nicole....

You're welcome. I go back to those verses over and over again...

 

[snappy]

Thanks for the verses. Somehow, I just knew it had to be from the Bible.

Lovely prayers. It makes me calm just reading them. They are powerful.
I am realizing I need to spend time reading the Bible. When DS started reading the Bible several years ago, a great change came over him. It was amazing.

Speaking of him, he called last night and is coming home this weekend (ah let me get the washer and drier fired up and dgo pickup some groceries!!!) He says he is studying furiously for midterm exams. Pray that he does well, he has both French and Philosophy today. He really needs to pick up his GPA this semester to avoid having his scholarships suspended.

He was quite surprised when DD12 told him we adopted a puppy. He thought it was a joke.

I am printing the verses off and taking it to work with me today so I can see it and pray for peace for Nicole and her family, healing for Lori, Dawn, shaymaraysmama, lookingforward, and everyone here.

 

[laurabelle]

Thanks for the verses. Somehow, I just knew it had to be from the Bible.

Lovely prayers. It makes me calm just reading them. They are powerful.
I am realizing I need to spend time reading the Bible. When DS started reading the Bible several years ago, a great change came over him. It was amazing.

Speaking of him, he called last night and is coming home this weekend (ah let me get the washer and drier fired up and dgo pickup some groceries!!!) He says he is studying furiously for midterm exams. Pray that he does well, he has both French and Philosophy today. He really needs to pick up his GPA this semester to avoid having his scholarships suspended.

He was quite surprised when DD12 told him we adopted a puppy. He thought it was a joke.

I am printing the verses off and taking it to work with me today so I can see it and pray for peace for Nicole and her family, healing for Lori, Dawn, shaymaraysmama, lookingforward, and everyone here.

Laurie- I do hope and pray your son is prepared and does well on his exams. I'm glad he's coming home, sounds like he needs a break!

The whole book of Philippians is full of comfort and joy...and Paul wrote it from prison! I have lots of different versions of the Bible, but for just sitting down and getting into the word, I love The Message version. Here's a link to Bible Gateway where you can not only look up verses, but read lots of different versions online. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=57&chapter=1&version=65