Workers, workers, workers

Man oh man...the condo is buzzin' today! We have a man cleaning and disinfecting all our heating ducts and air returns, an electrician installing all the final lighting in our kitchen and somehow, Pauline is here to try and clean as much as she can in preparation for having the kids come in this weekend.

I realized once again, just how old I am, after cleaning every new cabinet and washing/putting away all our kitchen goods over the weekend.

Ted and I just keep telling ourselves it will be worth it! The kitchen redo should be about finished by this Friday. I promise to post pic's of the new kitchen when it's done. I'd write more, but I've got too much to do today!

Crazy life!

My friend Geri wrote me today really worried as I haven't posted in so long. She's right in that something is usually up when I fall way behind in my postings! So here's the scoop this time. The end of my semester was crazy busy...a tough semester with some struggling students in both my classes. Turned out the last week of the semester coincided with Joel and Jo's wedding, so we were off to San Fran from April 28th-May 3rd. To say the wedding and entire weekend were just incredible is an understatement, but suffice it to say that the entire experience was amazing and wonderful! I promise to post some pic's when we receive them.

I returned home to a boatload of papers to grade amidst all the end of semester stuff that faculty need to do. Teddy, on the other hand, also had his plate full as a crew arrived to completely gut our kitchen the second day back from the wedding. So while he handled unloading our entire kitchen contents into our living/dining room and covering all with plastic, I finished up my teaching.

The next few days were consumed with meetings at work, a grad party for a neighbor, our home group night, Mother's Day, another Zometa infusion for me and my mom's 99th birthday last Thursday. This past Friday, the 14th, my mom became profoundly ill and we rushed her to the hospital. Thankfully, though 'we' are still hospitalized, she has once again found a way to overcome all odds and is on the mend. So 'we' will likely be released back to her assisted living facility tomorrow morning. My niece Becky and sis Marilyn have come to help out!

If the planets align, we'll stay with her a couple more days, my kitchen will be done by the end of the week and I'll be able to move the dishes, food et al from their various places on the floor, couches and tables back into our new kitchen this weekend! Teddy will be in New Orleans all weekend for Evan's bachelor party (I didn't think old guys got to be invited!), so it will just be me and Wrigs hanging out and catching up with life a bit!

Launching a Couple!

We had a big weekend five days ago. Joel and Jo flew in from San Fran and Jo's sister, Shiao, flew in from NYC and Brooke brought Harrison and Parker in from St. Louis. That's the starter.

We provided our condo to my college roomies, the TFWCers, to host a shower for Jo on Saturday afternoon with 12 attending, then we regrouped and provided our condo for my sis-in-law Barb and Nancy and my good friend Marilyn to host a Meek/Lukens family and friends shower on Sunday with 30 attending.

The TFWC shower was Jo's first "exposure" to my crazy college girlfriends including an induction ceremony for both. As you can see, it was loads of fun and we would all love to hear how Jo and Shiao describe that whole experience to their family and friends (ha!)

Then, Jo (once again) and Shiao (for the first time) got to share great fun and conversation with our family and friends.

The entire weekend, despite all the activity, I kept thinking about my bridal showers and all that has since happened to Ted and me in the 36 years. Joel and Jo have a lot ahead of them...joys, tears, craziness, low times and great times. So it was so good to help launch this wonderful couple!

Being reminded of my blessings

As soon as we got back from Cabo and I made it back into work the next day, I was reminded of my blessings. I was stopped by a faculty colleague who has just completed her chemo. She stopped me to ask what to expect from her radiation treatments, starting this week actually.

We stood there for a few minutes, with me asking her questions and then relaying as many tips as I could to help her prepare for radiation and all that comes with it.

She especially appreciated me saying that she needs to just prepare herself for the fact that when treatment is officially 'over', it's not at all over. And how she will still be feeling the effects for 12-18 months post treatment. The look on her face was like mine now nearly a year ago...I heard that, but I didn't really believe it. I was so anxious to get my life back to normal, that I was in a kind of denial about the after-treatment stuff. So it hit me hard when I didn't bounce right back to normal following treatment.

It's good that I can help this colleague and also another colleague, both 6-9 months behind me with their cancer journeys. Hopefully they'll be helped by my experience and will be more realistic about how long it takes to recover.

Fun in the Sun!

Man oh man, what a difference a year makes! Like this weekend, we took off a year ago to be with dear friends, sharing their condo timeshare in Cabo, New Mexico! Like this weekend, we absolutely pampered ourselves silly, laughed loudly all day long, ate great food, swam in the pool, soaked in the hot tubs and permitted ourselves a refreshing mojito even in the afternoon!

Unlike last year, I have HAIR, I don't have to completely stay out of the sun due to the chemo and I can actually awaken early to help secure our 'spot' on the beach!

It will be a sweet, sweet time this year!

Social Networking and All That Jazz

Social networking sounds fun to me...I just don't have the time to do it! I see Ted laughing and truly enjoying his 'facebooking' during the day. I've even had to remind him to put down the laptop lid while we're eating dinner (perhaps he's due for an intervention?)!

So I had tacitly decided that social networking was not gonna happen for me.

But then, there's our son Joel. So when he sent us the Google launch info regarding "Buzz", Google's entree into facebook-land, I had to be supportive right?

So I entered the world of 'buzzin' today. It's so cool because Buzz is right inside your Gmail, so you don't have to go to a separate URL to see what's happenin' out there. I must admit that every time a little number appeared in parentheses next to my Buzz logo, I couldn't wait to see what someone had commented. You don't yet have a Gmail account...what's wrong with you?? Let's get with it people! I should talk right?

I'm hooked.

Good Report Today

It was a big day. Up at 6:45, out at 7:40a for a quick run to Starbuck's for a Venti Awake hot tea to sustain me through the morning, mammy's gramed at 8a, bone density test at 9a, quick check-in with research clinical trial nurse at 10:30a, exam and nice chat with surgeon Dr. Goulet at 11a, check-in with oncology nurse and exam at 11:30a, then labs drawn around noon and a 45-min wait for the OK to proceed, then Zometa from 1-4p.

So the net/net out of all that was I'm FINE! Only thing we found out was that I have osteopenia (the first hint of less bone density). So I can't imagine what my bones must have looked before I had 8 Zometa bone-strengthening treatments! Turns out this participation in a clinical trial thing might just have some side benefits in addition to preventing cancer recurrence in my bones!

Cool beans! Feels good to be getting through my time of highest recurrence risk.

Off to bed now...