A Wonderful Sunshiney Day

Yes, it was an almost perfect sunshiney day today!!!

The only downfall for the day was the fact that I had to get up before 7 so I could make it to my radiation appointment at 8 (there was a scheduling conflict so I went in EARLY).

At 10:30 I had an appointment for a Holter  monitor to be put on, so I stopped back at home, made some ice tea and stopped at the thrift store before heading to that appointment. (see yesterday's post). 'Jon' is off and it is sooooo nice not to have the heavy battery pack hanging around my waist......and I can scratch my back (without hassle) whenever I want to. I certainly hope our break up is for good!

After that the ever popular grocery shopping had to be done....it's not as much as it used to be because deli food is out for me. I had a hankering for a BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato) so that is what  I made myself for lunch. My sandwich, some cherries, ice tea, and my book came outside in the sunshine with me!The sky was so blue, the sun so warm and the birds were singing in the trees. I did zip my sweatshirt up to my neck to keep the sun off my chest....but it was heaven. I know I need to start walking and today seemed warm enough, so I walked around the block....OK, I know that's not much to brag about, but I don't know how far I can walk and what if my heart acted up? It didn't and a block was just fine...with my slow pace. I was not ready to go inside so I sat in my glider and finished my book.

This was a good book and it kept me guessing.

Tonight it's laundry folding and tomorrow I have more errands to run. 

Can you believe that March will be over in a few hours and that I have only 10 radiation treatments left? When I first started I thought I'd never make it.....well, I know it's not over yet, but time is getting short!!! (insert smiley face)

An Impending Breakup?

There may be a breakup in my near future and I will not be ashamed of it. In fact I may shout it from the hills. I'll admit I am having a love affair with Brookside dark chocolate candies....but they are not the cause of my breakup. I do love them though!

The cause is the improvement of my heart. 

Today I saw another cardiologist, he said that my EF (heart ejection fraction) has improved significantly (from 19% to 34%) and once the EF is at 35% they don't normally implant a pacemaker or defibrillator in a patient, and 34 is pretty darn close to 35%.....so it doesn't look like I will need anything. He didn't see anything to indicate the need on the reports from the monitor/defibrillator. 

Good news!!!

But he does want me to wear a Holter monitor for 48 hours, that device records every heartbeat and can show them how irregular my heart is or is not beating. I will remove 'Jon' (the wearable defibrillator I have had since mid December) and have the Holter put on tomorrow morning. 

And maybe, just maybe, I will be able to break up with 'Jon' and be free! I was getting used to it....although he could be a nuisance in bed and when trying on clothing. 

internet photo

I don't know if my heart is that healthy.

Almost every day I experience a few seconds of lightheadedness.

Am I fooling myself when I say I don't feel my heart racing?

I expect to have some answers next week.

A Regular Day

I have been feeling really wonderful.....just like my normal self. I want to do a lot of things...but will my body cooperate? I will find out.

Monday I am seeing the electrophysiologist to see how my heart rhythms are and what we can do. Until then I am enjoying sitting at my table and watching the purple finches, sparrows, and chickadees at my bird feeder. It's sunny but cold here and there isn't much improvement predicted for the next week.

Yesterday, after radiation, I picked up my bff and we went to see my granddaughter, who was having her knee scoped. The facility she was at is about 60 miles away. She's 14, my oldest granddaughter,  and a runner.  She was happy to find a Starbucks card in the card I gave her and a candy bar in Deb's card. Deb and I had a good time, we haven't had a day like that in a long time. We had lunch at HuHot (I did find some low sodium foods that I can eat). Both of us have dietary restrictions so it can be a challenge to find eating places. I didn't feel like doing a lot of shopping so I chose to go to a craft store instead of a thrift store. I didn't pick up very much at Michael's but it was fun to look. 

surgery is over, having a snack and ready to go home......err...have lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings

I am still in play mode and not cleaning mode. Thursday afternoon I made some Easter cards. I think I need to make a few more for the grands that I won't see at Easter.

I don't do much stamping anymore, I like the die cuts I make on my Silhouette and often I print the sentiments. 

The weekend is here...............enjoy!!!!

A Blessing In Disguise?

I have an awful memory but do remember the weirdest things.

My childhood is a blur.....sometimes I wonder if it happened.

You'd think I'd remember when my brother was born (I was 4) but I don't. I don't even remember when my sister was born (I was 8). I think I remember running in a grassy yard...where??? I do have a very few pictures of my first years, even they don't bring my memory back. 

I do remember a few things from my preteen and teens years and that is about it. We were poor when I was little and lived with my paternal grandparents. Before I was 2 my baby sister was still born and my father died, all within a month's time. Since my mother was not liked by her mother in law we must have moved somewhere else. I believe my mother had 'nervous breakdown' at that time. Two  years later she was remarried and had a baby. I don't remember any of that. I know we lived in a teeny tiny trailer because there is a photo.  I know that later some of our cousins lived with us for a bit...no memories of that either. I do remember going to my aunts and walking around her yard and looking at her flowers, I remember my cousin giving me an almost used up tube of green mascara. I remember the bookshelf games....do you remember those? the game folded into what looked like a book and therefore fit on a bookshelf. I thought those were so neat. 

Sometimes I wonder if my lack of memory is a good thing. Were those times in my life too hard???? and I just blocked those memories??? No, I don't have alzheimers, I have always been like this. I remember day to day things, appointments, etc. just not my past.

The past year has been full of blessings:

* my cancer is gone

*I've connected with some new friends

* friends that are here have helped me when needed
*I was blessed with the chance to choose retirement before I was diagnosed so I was able to stay home and take care of myself

*my body is healing and I feel good now

*I've had some side effects but all have successfully treated
*I have good doctors & nurses care for me

*I know that I can deal with what happens....'Que sera sera'
I know there are many more that I have not written down here.

I can not say cancer has been a blessing, I am not that intuitive. I just can't say. I know I've had 8 or more chemo treatments last year, some that lasted nearly all day. I remember the date of the last one. I know I had some pretty lazy, nap filled days when I had to force myself to eat. I know that last summer I refused to let anyone see me without a head covering on. I know there were days when I could barely walk 10' and I spent most of my days in the recliner. I know those things but don't have a clear memory of those days and I am glad.

Is my bad memory a blessing?

I seem to remember the good & happy times in my life....sadly, I only remember the bad times in my first marriage.

That is just some of the stuff I think about when I can't sleep.

Oh! I almost forgot....how could I?
I have passed the 1/2 mark for my radiation treatments. Woo Hoo!!! So far everything looks good. If I do have some burning I don't expect it until the last week of treatment.

Thanks for reading my ramblings.

You Can Sweep Carpet and Other Nonsense

Yesterday  I watched HSN's 24 hour crafting event. Yes, I had it on when I was home and did not buy a thing. While watching I was inspired to make an Easter banner, my first. I should have made my letters in a very dark or white color. (I Won't mention my other mistakes) I used my silhouette and it was pretty easy. The next time I make one I will have a better idea of what I want to do.

I can't get outside (we had some snow this morning and it's too cold) and I didn't want to clean...so I played.  

This afternoon I cut out a couple more page layouts with the silhouette....but that's hard for me to do when I am not working on the actual page....I'm not sure of what I'll want to do. 

Then I looked at my mess and decided to straighten up......I can mess up my area in no time flat! 

The basement floor was littered with at least a years worth of paper scraps.....at least I know I have not vacuumed the floor for a year....and I was tired of looking at it.  Instead of picking up the bigger scraps I swept them into a pile and used the dust pan to pick up. I am not sure how good the vacuum would have handled them. I hauled the vacuum downstairs and vacuumed the rest. It will look good until the next time I 'play' downstairs. 

I remember sweeping the carpet in one of my first apartments. We were upstairs and the steps would get so dirty....the other upstairs tenant didn't clean them. I felt it was the first impression people would get of our apartment, even though they only led to the apartment. Since our vacuum wasn't the kind I could use on the steps, I swept them.

So, yes, you can sweep carpet (if it's a really low pile carpet such as indoor/outdoor) in a pinch. Just thought you'd want to know.

No. 1 or No. 2

I waffle.

I read your comments and decided to mat my J, yes our last name starts with a J. 

I didn't want to use the same fabric as I have on the bulletin board, they are too close together and it would be too 'matchy, matchy'.....I like to be different. So I thought of some pretty paper or maybe fabric. Hobby Lobby had their posters at 90% off. There was another one that caught my eye but this one came home with me.

yes, the J has to be crooked to fit in the frame the only way I can get it to fit.

 But then I thought some burlap would add interest. I didn't find any burlap at the thrift store but I found some counted cross stitch fabric in my stash. 

I am undecided!!!

Help! 

What should I do????

Here is my original post ....the J.

The Invention Of Wings

Are you a reader? I am. One of the few good things about last summer was that I was able to sit on the deck and read without feeling guilty. I am sure I'll make time to do that again this summer.  It's still too cold to sit outside...and snow is predicted. (insert very sad face)                                                                                                           

I recently finished reading this book for book club. Several years ago I tried to read THE SECRET LIVES OF BEES by the same author and couldn't get into it.  I really enjoyed this book, the past several nights, when I was so tired, I'd cozy up in my bed and read for an hour or so until my eyes got tired. I still couldn't fall asleep but I did get the book finished. This is an historical fiction book, based on the Grimke sisters, the first women abolitionists who caused quite a stir in the south during the mid 1800's. It's written from the perspective of Sarah Grimke and the slave she was given, Handful. They take turns telling the story so you get to see both viewpoints.

I am sure we'll have some good discussion at book club tomorrow night.... and some good food too! So far everyone I have talked to liked the book.

Now I need to find a new book to read. 

My Corner Of The Basement

 I didn't have to get up at any certain time saturday, but I was up again before 8. It's so much nicer when I don't have to be some place.

I am SLOWLY organizing my scrapbook area and this is what I did.

I started collecting J's and put this one inside a 24" tall frame. I think it looks cute and personalizes my corner.I am thinking of putting a white background behind the J, what do you think?

The adjacent wall of my corner is pretty dark. It's brighter if I have the lights on, only had one on today. I don't know what I am going to do with the frame hanging on the wall....something...someday.

Here's the after. I covered a 32" X 22" ugly bulletin board with this colorful fabric. It is bright, cheerful, and busy, and I love it! Of course I found the fabric at the thrift store. If you look closer you can see some more J's.

As you can see we have really ugly, old wood paneling on the basement walls. I detest it...but no way am I or hubby going to paint it. I also refuse to take everything off the walls and pay someone to paint it....so I am destined to have ugly walls..........FOREVER. So I will keep covering the walls with stuff to hide the paneling. 

The basement is never going to be all white and a pretty scrapbooking room like in the magazines, but I try to organize it a bit so it is somewhat inviting for me to 'play' in.

I also took one binder and cleaned it out and got rid of it. I know it's not a big thing but it is one more item that is not taking up space. 

Ahhhh, what else can I do now???

Just Messin' Around

I didn't know what I wanted to do the other day. I tried to sleep, but that didn't work out. I could have done some cleaning...but that will wait. So I went downstairs and played around with some scrapbook pages. I cut out a few designs with my Silhouette. These are 12 X 12 pages.

Two pages are for our Texas trip and 3 are for a trip to Holland MI for the tulip festival with a bus full of Red Hatters. I even found some tulip stickers in my stash. ***smile***

 I am not sure if the wagon wheel will be on this color of paper or not. It's hard to believe, with all of the paper I have, that I don't own the color I want.

The road trip can be sized for project life pages or bigger (like I did here), that's what I like about my Silhouette. 

I make pretty simple designs.

And I am happy with that.
The finished pages may or may not come back, it depends upon how they turn out.

We had a really nice time last night when we were out for fish with our friends.We could have stayed longer but we were kicked off of our table, it's not a big place. Everyone's food was delicious.....I had to cheat and eat a portion of my REAL dill pickle, I dipped my baked cod into the butter, and had the potato salad. Thankfully my scale was good to me this morning.
While we were there I met a woman who also had a bout with breast cancer and had a lumpectomy, so we talked a bit. Everyone else was sitting down in our group so I didn't talk too long to her. I hope we go out more often, it was fun.

Thanks for stopping by.

Friday Silliness

 My first and only stop today was radiation where I was greeted by the new receptionist. As you can see she can quite easily multitask. She is kinda quiet, I don't even know her name. Do you think I need to report the fact that she didn't have her nametag on?

I picked up my locker key and went to change. I finally noticed that my dressing room has a star on it. **Sweet**

When I got home I found my order from Healthy Heart Market. I had ordered some low/no sodium pickles and jerky. I was excited to see the pickles I LOVE pickles. Their beef jerky is excellant!!!

I open one jar of pickles and didn't care for those (sad face - I ordered 2 jars of that one b/c it had such good ratings). I'll try them on sandwiches and hope for the best. I still have 2 others to try. I do have 3 more small jars of my favorite pickles here. 

I'm excited because tonight we are going out with friends/family for fish. Kevin wants to do something nice for the gals who helped me and continue to drive me to doctor appointments. We certainly make it fun....we shop, we eat....you know things women to best. It will be good to get out, we haven't been out in ages. As the weather gets nicer I am sure hope that will change. 

The sun is trying to peek out **smile**

How can one person make such a mess in one room (my kitchen)??? Guess it's time to clean up my my mess. 

Happy First Day of Spring!!!

I Wasn't Going To....

...stop at the thrift store today, but I did. After radiation I stopped at the drugstore to get my prescription (I do that far too many times) and I had a lightheaded spell before I left the store. My alarm did not go off. I planned to run into the grocery store and pick up some tea (I drink tons of tea) and then just go home. Before I knew it my car turned into the thrift store. 

I picked up a rug to put by the back door. It's a little bigger than the one I have now. It's in good condition, except 2 of the corners are coming loose...so is the corner in the rug I have now. That  one was purchased new. I put some silicone on the underside of the corners and I am thinking they'll hold until the rug gets too dirty. It was $1.00 so when it's dirty I won't worry about throwing it out. 

I also picked up 2, current magazines and a headband. I have an idea for the headband....a craft project. All of this for $1.89, not a bad deal, huh?

I'm having a quiet week......love it. 

I did see the dermatologist yesterday and she froze a precancerous spot on my hand. That also happens a lot to me.

The weekend is almost here..........not that it matters to me....every day is a weekend day for me.

"Playing" / Scrapbook Page

Completed day 13 of radiation, over 1/3 done....and the fatigue is hitting me. I ran a few errands after treatment and came home and laid down. How can a person be tired but not fall asleep??? I did doze off for a little while b/c I woke up. I ate some lunch and finished a scrapbook page and now it's time to think about dinner, but I am sooooo tired. Guess I better get used to it. I think I am going to start setting my alarm in the morning b/c today I woke up after 8 and my appointment is at 9:30. I sleep best in the morning.

I got this treat from the nurses in radiation. They spoil us...and I like it :-)

This is the page I finished. 

I saw it on facebook and adapted it to my liking.

 

Actually it didn't turn out quite the way I planned, but I like it.

Who knows....I may try something like this again.

These are all 9 of my grandchildren.

Thanks for visiting me.

Our God Is An Awesome God/One Year Later

I don't remember the exact date but I know it's been a year since I found the lump in my breast. It's been a rough road but He has brought me through it and is still taking care of me. My God IS an awesome God. This is one of my favorite songs.

I received a call from the radiation department this morning and the machine is down. Hopefully they'll get it fixed today and I can go in for my treatment. I am on a tight schedule. In the meantime I will go grocery shopping....sigh...

Here's my new look. Yes, I spike my hair up like that, it's my Annie Lennox look. It looks stupid if I just brush it down on my forehead. It's hard to see in the picture but my hair has a tinge of light strawberry blonde in it. It's growing....slowly!

No sun today..................waaaaaaaaaaaaa

The Month of February

I finished my project life for  February.

I really enjoy doing this and being able to look back at the highlights of the month.

Short and Humerous Post/My New Glasses

I picked up my new glasses today, they are really different from my old ones; dark frames and blue sides. I would never have chosen blue before, but with my white hair it goes. 

Don't look too closely....or you'll see my globby eyelashes, lousy make up job, big nose, and old skin.

Day 11 of radiation, 1/3 of the way through....happy dance. Tomorrow I can sleep in and get dressed when I feel like it.....another happy dance.

It's 40 degrees today (yes, it is warmer everywhere else in WI) and hubby took the day off to golf.....will they actually golf? I don't care, especially if he brings a fish lunch home for me.

I stopped at the thrift store day and picked up an American Heart Association  hardcover cookbook for $1.....cheap recipe source. 

I also found a brand new 8 X 8 scrapbook for one of my girls, it was $4, originally $19.99.

I contains stickers and die cuts.

Each page protector is filled with colored paper.

I am carrying my cell phone in my back pants pocket...not b/c I am expecting any phone calls....but I'm using it as a pedometer. Wish me luck! I had 4117 yesterday. I know that's nowhere near the 10,000 I should have, but at least now I have an idea of how many steps I get in a day.

Thrifting and Eating

This has been a busy week; between doctor appointments, errands, shopping with friends, lunches with friends, and lunch with my grandsons, I have been gone a lot. Loved every minute of it though.

Monday I had an appointment, yes, we planned a date, to go thrifting with a friend who had a gift certificate to use up. She tried on these funky shoes, I couldn't convince her to buy them though. She did get a new rolling tote and I got an umbrella that will attach to my lawn chair....I need to stay out of the sun.

We stopped at another thrift store and met this 'pot head'?

No one brought him home either. 

Later we had lunch at Applebee's, it's not the best place to eat if you are on a low sodium diet. 

Yesterday I went to see one of my cardiologists and get an ECHO (see yesterday's post). Of course we had to have lunch. We ate at Zebbs, which is near the hospital...we were starving. My friend had the homemade chicken pot pie. Can you say huge? She couldn't even manage to eat 1/2 of it. The chicken chunks were not the teeny tiny ones you usually see. Everything there is homemade, and you can tell. She took a big piece of strawberry shortcake home for later in the day. 

I had a wrap, it was pretty big too. Since I am watching my sodium our waitress bent the rules a bit and gave me fruit and a side salad instead of the soup and fries. My lunch was delish too! My weight was up a little this morning so I may have overdone it with the salt. 

After lunch we stopped at the Fresh Market store so I could get my low sodium dill pickles.....I bought the last 5 jars they had. I'll be back in a month to get more!!! A few other low sodium snacks came home with me too. Carla is a member of Costco so we stopped there too and I found some low sodium, baked, Snapea Crisps. They are good! We watched the Ninja blender demos and I had all 3 of the samples she passed out. We also noticed a Meijer store is opening up in June. It's just down the road from Costco. I wonder how that will affect Costco. I've never been to Meijer but my 2 radiation nurses love that store. 

Today I had radiation, all is going well. I had lunch with 2 of my grandsons at school today, first they read and then we eat. This afternoon I am cleaning out some odds and ends that I had saved for the grandsons to be creative build things with...but we haven't used them...so off to recycling or garbage they go.

That's about it for my busy week. Next week will be a little quieter. Hope you're having a great week too!

A Scare And A Smile

I have been feeling quite good lately, doing well with the radiation too. Yesterday I was gone bumming with a friend for most of the day and later in the afternoon I was attempting to clean out an area in the basement so the telephone (Charter) guy can check the wiring. We have 4 telephones in the house and only one in the basement works....what??? Anyway.....after dinner I was just sitting in front of the computer and I started to feel light headed, warm, things started to get dark...then my defibrillator alarm went off. I pressed the response buttons and felt better. Kev, who was in the next room didn't even hear it. He asked why I hadn't said anything to him when I started feeling weird....b/c I wasn't sure if I could yell so he'd hear me and I didn't know if it would just go away or not. About one half hour later I called Zoll and asked what had happened, I knew it wasn't just movement related like all of my previous alarms had been. I found out that my heart rate was 190 beats per minute for about 15 seconds.....it may not seem like a long time...but.... The day before I was told I had a similar episode for about 8 seconds. 

If that doesn't  put 'the fear of God' in you....guess maybe it just scared me a bit and I was reminded again how fragile life is. I have an appointment with that cardiologist later this month to find out what we will do about my very irregular heartbeats.

Today I had an ECHO and saw my other cardiologist.

The good news is my EF is up from 19% to 34%. That certainly made me grin!!! Anything over 50% is good. He wants to do another in 2 months. He did increase my carvedilol (one of my heart medications), the one that lowers my blood pressure. I am not looking forward to that.

I'm having a great week bumming around with friends.....more to follow.

Random Thoughts on a Saturday

"I'm going to live until I die".

I heard some man say this on a commercial for the YMCA. He was a cancer survivor and worked out at the Y every day. I like his attitude. 

I haven't been wearing much make-up for the past 10 months and my skin seems to be smoother and just looking younger  not so wrinkly. Maybe my eyesight is getting worse, maybe I am just lazier, maybe I don't care anymore, but I don't wear foundation as much as I used to. Some powder or blush seems to do the trick. Of course I need mascara (for my very short lashes) and eyebrows to make me look human.

Today I slept in, it felt like a luxury to not have to get up, get dressed, and be out of the door at 9:10am. I was dressed before noon. I haven't felt the need for a nap today.Woo Hoo....much rejoicing today!

More rejoicing.....it is sunny and 38 here!!! It's a heatwave for us. I actually had to find a lighter hat to wear than my knit one.....it was a delightful item to search for. 

One more thing

Wednesday I am having an ECHO to see if my EF has improved (meaning my heart is better) and then I see one of my cardiologists. Next we'll determine what (if anything) needs to be done for/with my heart issues. I have been wearing Jon for 3 months, remember? he's my personal EMT?, my wearable defibrillator? He's been good to me and hasn't felt the need to shock me once. 

Hope you are having a great weekend!!!

A Somewhat Disappointing Day

The fatigue from the radiation is starting to set in....I know the feeling....had it with the chemo....at least I am not nauseous and it's still winter....so I don't feel bad if I take a nap. That is IF I get to take a nap.....yesterday I did not get a nap, I had too much to do.  My first disappointment :-(

Yesterday afternoon I had an eye appointment. I decided to go to Shopko, I have almost always gotten my glasses there, the last time I got new ones I did go to a different place b/c hubby had insurance. I have an AARP card and get it exclusively for new glasses (at Shopko)....it's well worth it! I was disappointed to find that they don't have the trendiest selection of frames as the Aurora eye clinic has. I am very thrifty and prefer to pay about $100 for frames....I know I wear my glasses every day and will have them for years....so a costlier pair would not be so expensive on a daily basis...but I can not get over the initial cost.  Also if I got a trendy frame maybe I'd be sick of it in a year and want the next trend??? I'll model my new frames when I get them.

Last night I attended an essential oils meeting with 2 friends. We left early so we could have dinner before the meeting, we like to eat out :-) and the meeting was out of town. I had the liver and onions with 1 piece of bacon. Most people don't like it but it's a treat for me. The bacon didn't seem to put me over my sodium allowance. All three of us were hoping to learn more about the oils but the meeting talked about the company....that was a little disappointing......and boy, could the speaker talk!!!  

After she was finished with her presentation the OOLA guys were on. They were pretty good and shared a common sense approach to life. I believe they are life coaches, wrote a book, and have 2 essential oils named for them. They seem to be pretty successful for 2 young men.

I was so tied during the 2 hour meeting and kept yawning. But, of course, when I went to bed my mind was running wild......I have been spending too much money the past month....just because I didn't spend much last autumn doesn't mean I have to spend it all now! How disappointing! Hopefully, soon, I'll need money to buy plants. I was also thinking that I should be looking into the healthy cooking plan my bff is trying, I am not really understanding the essential oils and feel it's more important to put healthy foods into my body. In my opinion I really don't haven any physical or emotional issues that oils can help. I know I am dealing with cancer and my heart issues right now....and except for the fatigue and wearing a defibrillator I feel good.

On the bright side:

***Look at this huge, delicious, carrot, cupcake I got from the gals at radiation today!!!

I had been teasing one of the nurses about cupcake friday....and viola! it was today! They were waiting for me to bring it up this morning at my treatment but I thought 'I can not keep begging for cupcakes' so I let it go. As I was walking down the hall, with Carol, to get dressed Leah pushed out a cart with a bunch of these BIG cupcakes. I was pleasantly surprised. Usually the man who is ahead of me talks to me if we see each other, but today he kept his back to me and said a couple of words to me and left. Carol and Leah told him not to let me see his cupcake, because it was a surprise for me. All of the nurses I have dealt with have been so nice!!!

***Spring is on the way - it's suppose to be in the 40s in a few days!Woo Hoo!!!!

***Speaking of naps......look out bed, here I come!!!

Sometimes Ya Just Gotta Throw Your Hands In The Air And Laugh

There are days and then there are days, agree???

For instance when my GP's office called me to remind me that it's time for my annual physical. I started laughing.....for the past 11 months I have seen more doctors than I care to think about. I told the caller about my situation and called my doctors nurse the next day. I don't need a pap so don't need that appointment. Once less.

I've completed day 5 of radiation, so far, so good. I have a cold. Yesterday was windy, snowy, and cold....I just wanted to stay home and in my jammies all day...but I went out. Lately I haven't been sleeping very good so I laid down and tried to nap yesterday afternoon.

After radiation is over and I am getting dressed I put my life vest defibrillator back on and the sensors go nuts...the monitor keeps telling me they are not touching my body. After fiddling around with them on 2 different occasions I decided it must have something to do with the treatment. The past 2 days I did not put the battery in right away and everything was OK. Another problem solved.

Today, as I was getting dressed after raddiation, I picked up my glasses only to notice the temple on one side was broken off. Without my glasses I couldn't tell what the problem was, I couldn't see it. I was in the same building where I purchased them (about 3 years ago) so I went upstairs to see if they were covered under warranty. They weren't, no surprise. The gal who was working put the lens back in, I didn't know it was out, and she taped the temple back onto the front piece with scotch tape. What can I do? My granddaughter who has all the fancy duct tape lives 100 miles away. BUT.... I have fancy Washi tape! If I am going to look like a nerd I might as well use fancy tape instead of black electrical tape. 

I wasn't planning on getting new glasses but I do have an appointment for tomorrow.

The woman I rode down with in the elevator had on beautiful blue glasses. They looked great with her white hair, and I told her so! She's quite happy with them.

What kind of fancy, colorful, new glass frames do I want???

Weekend Adventures

Don't get too excited, I wasn't very adventurous. 

Friday I started with radiation, 3 treatments under my belt so far and it's going OK, it is starting to feel a bit like sunburn though.

After running some errands I met an old friend, from out of town, for lunch. 

Later she came along with me to watch my grandson perform in a play his class presented.

It was a play about Martin Luther King's dream and the way life was during that era.

The students were dressed so nice in black or white shirts.

Everyone enunciated clearly and most read their lines slowly so they were understandable. 

They were serious, their lines were straight, and the square corners were well executed.

 When school got out grandson J called and asked if he could come over and stay the remainder of the weekend....you know I said yes. 

All 3 boys came over for a while. 

playing catch with grandpa

Saturday afternoon I went to my bff's Stampin' Up party.

Here is one of the cards we made, I love it!

How did I manage to glue the piece on so crookedly?

This weekend grandson J was in a incredibly good mood. 

He doesn't like going to church because he doesn't understand, and I can't explain because then neither of us will hear the sermon. He knew he had to go on Sunday so he was ready and willing.  A couple of times I had to sit down when I started to feel light headed. That has been happening more of late (low blood pressure). J is always concerned about my health.

Today, after radiation, I stopped at a thrift store and picked up some lettuce and tomatoes.......I was out and I eat a lot of salads. On mondays they have breads and produce that are out of date. Once in a while I get there on a monday.

I also picked up a small, red, crossbody purse for my upcoming Red Hat trip. Now that I have an iphone I don't need to carry my Nook and camera with me. I think the purse was $1, but it was even less b/c when I looked inside I found .31. What a deal, huh? BUT I have to get rid of my big red bag...no problem, it's already in the donate bag.

After dinner tonight I got a call from grandson J....again...

Tomorrow the school is celebrating Dr Seuss' birthday and everyone dressing like one of his characters. Oh dear, I have Halloween costumes but not Dr Seuss costumes! He said he didn't know about it until today....it would have been so much easier if I had more time to think about it.

We finally decided upon Thing 1.

I found an old wig and literally PAINTED it blue.

I hope he can, at least, wear it for part of the day.

I found a red shirt and pinned on THING 1  that I had printed off the computer. Thank Goodness for Google images. 

This is my contribution to his costume, he has red pants but could not find them. I dropped the shirt and wig off at his other grandparents (where they live).

Unfortunately I didn't have anything for his older brother to wear.

The weatherman is predicting 3-4" of snow for us.....and I HAVE to go out....that's life.

Remember spring is getting closer!!!!