Chemo # 6 coming up

Thursday is chemo # 6.  After this one only 2 more.  

Oh, I just can't wait until I can say "this is my last one."  I am doing my best to stay strong and positive.  I have neuropathy now, (numbness and tingling in my fingers and feet).  My fingernails are lifting, and I will probably lose my nails altogether (fingernails and maybe even toenails).  

I am told they grow back.  Same as your hair.  

(sigh)

I am thankful for all my good days and having some energy.  The garden has kept me busy pruning and weeding after large amounts of rain the past few days.  I am enjoying the sunshine.

It seems funny sitting on the back porch without my coffee.  I haven't had a cup of coffee in a very long time.  

Tomorrow Otis and Riley will visit the groomer to have their nails cut and then we will stop by the park so they can run.  

It's hard to believe that Memorial Day weekend is here already.  

I hope you all enjoy it, and....

I will be back later.

  

Discovery journal

...or should I call it a visionary journal.  I started a journal of pictures and illustrations several years ago after reading the book Simple Abundance by Susan Ban Breathnach.  The same type of journal was also mentioned in the book The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.  It is a journal filled with anything and everything you love, things that make you feel good, speak to you, stir your imagination, even color.  You simply go through old magazines, catalogs, brochures or books and cut out whatever "speaks to you" and then glue those images into your journal.  

I now have three of these journals.  

Early morning is a good time to go through the pages...and meditate.  

Feeling down?  Open the journal and you will find your thoughts become lighter.  

You will have a sense of joy and contentment.  

Sometimes the pages will spur the imagination.  

Couch potatoes

I'm here....

and I am doing fine, just trying my best to get through this chemo.  I am now on my second half with 6 more weeks to go (3 more treatments).  Neuropathy is setting in and my fingers and feet hurt but I have more energy.  

This treatment on Wednesday was really scary for me.  They started me on taxol, a very strong drug that can cause severe allergic reactions.  On one of my prior chemo treatments, the person next to me was being given taxol and had an allergic reaction to the drug and the next thing you know they are calling code blue.  

How's that for scaring the living daylights out of you!  

But I made it through the treatment and I'm ok.   

Today I was in the garden weeding and pruning as best I could with my sore hands but the sunshine felt so nice.  I love being in the garden.  

I'm trying to eat as healthy as I can but food just doesn't taste like food.  Cold food tastes best, I can't seem to get past the cooking smells.  I've been eating lots of fruits and veggies.  We still have strawberries in the garden.  

I stopped at the resource center at UNC on Thursday when I was there and picked up a pretty hat and scarf.   It's funny how when you look better, you feel better.  

I'll be back later.....

Down for the week

....maybe a little longer,

but I'll be back.  

Welcome sun

What a beautiful day it is today and I'm feeling as good as can be expected.  


The garden is so lush and green right now.  A couple of days of heavy rain made a big difference.    
We have three raised beds in our vegetable garden in the back yard.  

This year we planted broccoli, lettuce, onions, red beets, tomatoes, and potatoes.  We also have a strawberry patch, blueberries, and a peach tree.  



It's great to walk out to the garden and know you have healthy food right at your fingertips.  

Tomorrow I'm off to UNC Cancer Center again for my 4th treatment.  At this point I will be halfway through the chemotherapy.  This last one knocked me down pretty good, so tomorrow could be a doozy.  


I'm hanging in there and I want to thank all of you again for your love and support.  I love readying your comments and heartfelt wishes.  It means so much to me.  Thank you for your prayers and I hope you will continue keeping me in your thoughts.  


One of my friends who had gone through breast cancer last year said to me, try not to look too far ahead,  but look back and see how far you've come.  I'm keeping that in mind.  

....I don't know if I can do this...

The more chemo treatments I undergo the more severe the side effects and the longer it takes for my body to rebound.  Ugh.  Some days I feel like a deflated balloon, hardly having enough energy to walk from one room to the other.  

Can I do this?  I don't know.  

Bad days.....good days......

hoping for more good days and the strength to get through all of this.  


I did manage to walk out to the garden today and picked some fresh strawberries from the strawberry patch.  

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.  

Round 3

Hello everyone!  Once again, tomorrow I head to the UNC Cancer Center in Chapel Hill for my third chemo treatment.  Ugh.  I guess I shouldn't dread this so much, but I do.  I should be thankful that I haven't been getting really sick.  Just some nausea, weakness, a bit of anxiety and depression and a few other little issues.  It knocks me down for about 10 days but I guess it could be worse.  

On my 5 really good days when I feel normal and my energy returns  that's when I catch up on whatever was put on hold while I was spending time on the sofa for a week.  Oh, by the way, you know what a big coffee lover I am, right?  Well, coffee just doesn't taste the same to me anymore and I seem to be drinking more tea.  Tea and Gatorade....strange.  

Galen has been my rock.  He does whatever has to be done.  He cooks and bakes, he does laundry, he vacuums, takes care of Otis and Riley and does all the yard work. I don't know what I would do without him.   

He's going to need a nice big vacation as much as I will when this is all said and done!  

So here I go again, Round 3, 

5 more to go.