Holy cow. Tired today.

But even so, we got some things done.

This morning, after putting on my mad scientist hat, I mixed a new topical concoction for that chest tumor.

Then mom, dad, and I went shopping at Kohl's. We picked up news shoes for Eddie and t-shirts for me, some clothes for mom and Scott. I also found a nice little mosaic table for the deck outside . . . When the deck gets built.

Had lunch in Albany, then went to a local. Ursery, where we found a Plain Terra cotta plant container and another ceramic one for plants in the backyard. Our plan is to make a curvy pathways, surrounded by beds using retaining wall stones and plant containers. That will be directly behind the deck we plan to build.

By then, I was beat. I think the Ambien made me groggy all day, so I plan to take Benadryl to see if I feel better tomorrow while still sleeping tonight (a couple of doctors suggested this to help with sleep.

I rested through the early afternoon, then right before dinner, I designed a new mosaic. I have bee making them in these 2ft. X 2ft. panels which may end up in a short fence thatnwill divide the side yard in back from the backyard.

After dinner, I rested and watched Chocolat. I love that movie. Still tired. Hope Inget more than 4-5 hours tonight! I feel so lucky my folks are here - I was way too tired to make dinner for me and Eddie. I am glad some ins are getting back to normal, though, like shopping and errands. But the grogginess today has been a bit much.

Appointments and Errands and Work Emails

I had three appointments today and then lunch with a friend and colleague.

The wound care nurse said that, under the circumstances, the wound and the growth are doing okay. The growth actually shrunk to about 17 x 13cm. She also said that, in her experience (and she hasn't had many patients with cancer), growths/wounds like this have very compromised tissue and it tends to bleed easily. It was bleeding awhile ago, but the powder seemed to keep it from bleeding. Lately, I've been using turmeric and she thinks that it is keeping it from getting infected and from bleeding. In other words, the wound/growth could be worse.

I also saw my acupuncturist and she treated me for the fatigue and anemia and pain in my armpit/shoulder mostly, but since I am also working to remove my ego from many sources of frustration and stress, she put in a couple of needles at "constitutional" (basic DNA level, which is pretty deep) points. What was interesting is that after she left so I can just sit there, one point, my third knuckle on my left hand, just started throbbing. That's the San Gao 4 point, which has to do with my essential self. The funny thing is that there was no needle there. She thought the fact that point was reacting was a good sign that energy was moving to that area to help my body remember my basic DNA (I think), which cancer has hi-jacked. The idea, I think, is for my body to remember my essential constitution (i.e., pre-cancer) and recreate that. So, I had a reaction that she considered a positive step toward my healing.

Lunch with my colleague and friend, K., was fun. I think we're going to put in a pre-proposal with another colleague to continue some work in Alaska. There's some good positive energy there, which was really cool. My issue is that the pre-proposal is a quick turn-around. We have to submit a 4-pager by April 6 and my surgery is April 1. So, I need to work on as much as I can before my surgery. And, that's on top of edits to an article, my syllabus, figuring out Dropbox, etc. K. and I also had to do a little debriefing from our Hawaii workshop.

Then, it was off to my teeth cleaning. I hate getting my teeth cleaned. But Monday evening, one of my crowns started aching a little. But she didn't see anything of concern. It just might be bruised from chewing a lot of gum or something. And, amazingly, the teeth cleaning was fairly easy and gentle. Usually, I feel like she's poking my gums something awful.

Eddie and I also ran a couple of errands. He started rereading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, so we got the last two in the series. He's going through one of those books a day.

Now, I'm just trying to get caught up with work emails. Man, they keep piling up.

Tonight, I'm just gonna watch reruns on TV. And, work a little on my syllabus.

I am enjoying watching things bloom and bud. But it feels like an awfully cool spring to date.

Countdown: 8.5 days and 17 dressings changes to go.

Christmas Happenings

As expected, I didn't sleep well Friday night - that was due to the Abraxane. So, I spent most of Saturday at home. It took me a few hours to wrap presents, in-between watching movies, of course. Mom and dad had wrapped their presents a few days ago, so now our living room is even more festive with presents under the tree!

I also brought a meal over to a colleague and visited with her and her husband.

In the evening, I changed my toenail color and put a nail strengthener on my fingernails, which continue to chip and split. I found a dark green color at Freddies the other day that I'm using on my toes. Dad thinks it looks more like teal, which it does in some lights. It has sparkles. I like it!

I also put a ribbon inside the wool felt hat I bought for myself a couple of weeks ago. The wool made my head itch. Now, I hope that it won't. It's not a professional stitching job, but it will do the trick.

Today, I have to run a few errands, but otherwise, I plan to play with beads and jewelry. Also, make a couple of final preparations for heading to Seattle next week for a couple of days. Eddie wants to go to the Mindbender's Mansion exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. They also, coincidentally, have a Harry Potter exhibit as well. I think we're heading up with my sister's family.

I think I'm having coffee later with a friend.

In other words, a relaxing day. I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted . . . the only thing marring a good restful weekend is an academic bully. But we won't talk about it here. I'm putting that aside until after New Year's.

Enjoying the Days

The last two days have been beautiful here in western Oregon. I've enjoyed the sun and seeing all the flowers bloom. Love that!












Spent the last couple of days running around - had an acupuncture, physical therapy, and counseling appointments the last couple of days. Had other errands to run. Did a few things with Eddie.

Last night, I was up until 1am working on a grant proposal. Hoped to get back to it today, but was too busy.

Tomorrow, we head to Bend for three nights. Yay! It'll be fun to be in different surroundings and have a change in routine. My sister and her kids, my folks, my youngest brother, Eddie, and my folks' dog are staying in a 4-bedroom, 3.5 bath house (got a good deal - Bend has been hard hit by the recession, so things are relatively inexpensive) with a hot tub. We may play in the snow. We will definitely go hiking. We might find a family fun center - I think there's one with go karts. That'll be fun.

Since my siblings and I went to high school in Central Oregon, we may also visit with old friends. I know I will definitely see a friend who came to see me before the holidays. L and I first met when we were 10, when we first moved to Prineville.

I'll have to bring some work with me. But it'll be relaxing. I love to change up the routine. Enjoy the rest of your spring break!

Visits, Visits, and More Visits - It's all good!

I forgot to report that I had a visit with my oncologist on Wednesday. He just noted the side effect I get from Herceptin (fatigue), mentioned my swollen lymph nodes, discussed whether or not I was in the trial (I didn't know when I saw him - I found out several hours later), and I requested a referral to see a physical therapist. I forgot to ask about the echocardiogram results - it's normal for the most part. We noted the slight decrease in the CA15-3 tumor marker.

In other words, there really wasn't much to report. Status quo. Which is a good thing.

I decided that I wanted to see a physical therapist because there's been some recent reports that lifting weights and/or exercise is good for lymphedema. I have lymphedema around my ribs on the right side (where the cancer was). I have also had some lymphedema on my upper left arm the past few days. I think the swollen lymph nodes are causing some back up in the arm.

I also have decreased strength in my arms and also it seems that my legs aren't as strong as they used to be - or maybe it isn't leg strength, it's core strength. I can't balance on one leg as easily as I used to. My decreased core strength is due to the TRAM flap, of course, where they released the left TRAM muscle that runs down on the side of the midline on the front of my torso. My right shoulder also curls forward, due to the right side getting radiated twice and after two major surgeries. I want to try to strengthen my arms, my chest and torso, and my legs possibly. I figure I should work with a professional to make sure I don't overdo any exercises and get advice on the best exercises I can do.

So, back to my visits. On Wednesday, there were some tribal reps on campus hammering out an agreement for a repatriation - and since the Army Corps of Engineers has ownership (we are only holding it physically), their rep was there, too. Turns out it was an archaeologist that was in my classes when I worked on my master's degree here at OSU. It was nice to see him again - hadn't seen him in a long time. We had a chance to get caught up.

On Friday morning, I chatted via Skype with a colleague in Oxford, England. I went to Oxford last August to attend a workshop and to meet with him - we're collaborating on a project. We needed to assess where we're at in terms of data collection and to get a sense of what we wanted to do with the data in terms of analysis after we're done with data collection.

I went to a noon lecture on Friday, then we met with our Ph.D. students to discuss some advanced theory. This group had discussed just prior to our meeting that they wanted to grab a beer with a couple of other folks - so in the end, about nine of us met at a local place to have a mid-afternoon beer and visit. It was fun! Then most of them left and my Ph.D. student and I had a chat about her dissertation research - another good conversation. Because of her changed direction, I invited her to go to dinner with me at my colleague's house - my colleague's guest works for CAFE (Center for ?? Faculty Excellence) at University of Alaska Anchorage. I thought it might be good for J to meet her.

Dinner at my colleague's house was fun - there were several people from Alaska there - heard a grizzly bear attack story! - got to chat with lots of people and get caught up.

Then, my volleyball teammates were having a beer after the game - so I stopped by to visit with them a bit, too.

Basically, other than the noon lecture, I talked to people from about 10:15am to about 9:30pm. I was bushed when I came home last night. But a good tired.

Today, my folks and I went to the Friends of the Library sale ($10 for 8 books), then over to Albany to do some shopping (Eddie needed new shoes and I wanted a new shirt that was spring-like) and to exchange a couple of things, then dad and I with some help from my brother started to straighten out the garage. We loaded up my car and after dinner, took it to Goodwill.

All in all, a good couple of days. Good friends, good colleagues, good conversations, good errands. Good days. Thanks!

An Emotionally Tiring Day

I had an appointment with my counselor and rehashed the events of last week - having to do with the post where I couldn't say much. It was draining. Didn't realize how much emotion I was still holding in. It's a good thing I let it out. But I'm feeling tired and drained.

Also managed to send out recommendation letters, some paperwork related to the Statehood project, emailed a few folks to find more interviewees, and graded some papers.

Then I picked up Eddie, took him to Wacky Bounce, wrote a draft of a poem which I may include in my book proposal, and had dinner.

Still need to go to the grocery store. Then, I can relax. And, get a good night's sleep.

Happy Wednesday!