Would Like to do Something for Spring Break . . .

It seems a shame that I haven't planned anything for spring break. I thought I would be recovering from surgery, so I didn't make plans. But now the itch is there to go somewhere, at least for a night.

But, in reality, I shouldn't spend the money to go somewhere. There will be other expenses coming up with my surgery, I'm sure.

But still . . . hmmm. Maybe I can stay with a friend somewhere fun . . .

I also need to make sure that someone is around to care for mom and dad.

And, I worry a little about the pain in my armpit/shoulder. But then again, I shouldn't let that stop me from doing something fun!

Vegas from Mon to Wed, OHSU on Thurs, Cabin Fri to Sun

A few weeks ago, as I was chatting with my Hawaiian friend and colleague on the phone, I invited myself to visit with her and her family when they are in Vegas this coming week. I leave tomorrow afternoon and come back Wednesday evening. We plan to see Cirque Du Soleil Zumanity and also go to Red Rock Canyon. We need to tie up some loose ends from the Hawaiian workshop, too.

While I was in Portland, I got a call from the doc's office at OHSU - I will see him and the plastic surgeon (a female) on Thursday afternoon. I'm not sure how quickly they can work me in for surgery, but I'll know more next week.

Then on Friday evening, I head to a cabin in the woods with my coauthor - we are writing a paper called Seabirds of King Island. It'll be good to have that time to chat together.

And, I have two applications due March 1st and one on March 7th.

Dad had chest pains the whole time we were in Portland, so she went to the ER last night. They've run all kinds of tests, all came back negative (or normal) until the stress test today, which she couldn't finish. The doctor also listened to various arteries and heard abnormalities, so they suspect it's angina or clogged arteries in her heart. They will do an angiogram tomorrow to be sure and then they will decide to do.

It's gonna be an interesting week . . .

In PDX

My son is having a great time here in Portland.

We are here for his school's annual academic tournament - they have multiple competitions in academic, music, and sports.

He participated in the Knowledge Bowl yesterday. Unfortunately, they lost their first two matches. He didn't seem too disappointed. He was anxious to get into our hotel's indoor swimming pool.

We're staying at the Embassy Inn and Suites - it has a wonderful inner courtyard, complete with a waterfall and koi ponds. They also have a nice continental breakfast plus a "manager's happy hour", with free drinks and also snacks.

Eddie didn't get much time with kids while in Hawaii. Here at the hotel, he's getting as much time as he can handle. He's having a great time playing in the pool, running with his pals through the hotel.

While he does that, I'm visiting with the other parents and the teachers.

I feel like I should be doing something . . . my folks came with us and I just want everyone to have a good time. So, I feel like a tour guide, but I'm trying to get everyone to voice their opinions about what they want to do. Hard work!

Eddie would love to just hang at the hotel. But I want to get out and look around Portland. So, this morning, after watching part of the Spelling Bee, we went to Ikea. Finally found a TV stand for the flat screen we bought before Thanksgiving. We also bought a few other little things.

Then we had lunch with a dear friend of mine.

Eddie was in the pool for an hour and a half, then we came back to the room to relax. Then I picked up dinner from Red Robin. Then it was visiting time for me - and pool time for Eddie. I stayed down in the courtyard/snack area and Eddie hung out with his friends. He ended up staying the night in a friend's room. It is like one big slumber party for him.

All in all, it was a good day. Ed seems to be having fun. I'm having fun chatting with the other parents. My folks seem happy, too.

We head home tomorrow, then Monday afternoon, I fly to Vegas and come back Wed evening. Then Thurs pm, I have an appointment with the OHSU docs.

Busy month. I'm just glad I had energy to do it all!

Need a Personal and a Professional Secretary! Holy Cow!

Yesterday, I had three appointments and then I tried to attend to some details at work. Took care of some details on Monday but didn't get to all of them. I felt unsettled all day. I couldn't remember what it was I needed to do at work - luckily, I printed out stuff I needed to respond to and finally got to that today.

Then, I had to sit and think about those things I needed to follow up on with regard to my medical stuff. I ended up spending 45 minutes on the phone this afternoon talking to the wound care supply company (yes, I need those dressings sooner than the 30-days that was authorized; the wound is draining more! It's 15cm x 11cm big! I go through 8 packages of drain sponges and it's still been leaking out onto my clothes! - I said that three times, I think) and also waiting on hold with the surgeon's office in Portland. That office was supposed to call me back yesterday. I also had to call my oncologist's office to see if they refilled my Flagyl prescription - I crush the pills and sprinkle the powder on my dressings to cut down on wound odor. They had forgotten to have my doc authorize the prescription on Monday and apologized for their error so they took care of it this afternoon - I can pick that up any time.

Luckily, the wound care nurse has supplies that I can use until I get the reordered supplies from the wound care supply company.

The doctors' office in Portland apologized because they realized they had forgotten to call me yesterday to tell me that they need to have the surgeon make the call about whether or not he can squeeze me into his schedule sooner rather than later. They will see him tomorrow and will call me back.

I need a personal secretary to help me keep track of these phone calls to doctors' office and wound care supply companies.

My mom just told me that she put the clothes that I washed into the dryer because I forgot about them.

I also need a Professional Secretary to remind me who I need to respond to on email. I got about 50 messages today, about 15-20 of which needed answering . . .

I needed to take care of these details because I will be spending the next few days with my son, who will be attending his first academic tournament with his school. He is on the Knowledge Bowl team, who compete tomorrow. We are staying in Portland for this and I expect to have fun. He'll be able to play in the pool at the hotel with his school buddies. We hope to go to Powells and maybe to Ikea and to visit with some of my friends there in Portland.

Then, Monday afternoon, I fly to Vegas for two nights. I will be hanging out with my friends from Hawaii and we plan to go to Red Rock Canyon and to see Cirque du Soleil Zumanity!

Life settles down a bit after that - oops, no wait, I will spend a weekend at a cabin in the woods cowriting an article with a colleague. Then life settles down a bit.

That is, of course, until I have surgery.

Then spring term classes start again.

Good thing I'm drinking a glass of red wine tonight! Ha!

I'm back home!

I arrived home late last night - I will tell more about my trip in a longer post tomorrow. I just wanted you all to know that I didn't fall off the volcano; I was too busy and didn't have a great internet connection, so I didn't spend a lot of time on the internet. I had a great time and I didn't want to come home.

I'll be back tomorrow!

We're in Hawaii!

We made it safely to Honolulu yesterday and after finding the place and settling in, Eddie was in the water for at least an hour and a half. Then we relaxed through the evening.

Today, we woke up early, before dawn since our bodies are still on Oregon time. Then I walked down to the beach to watch the sunset - I was down there an hour and a half and enjoyed myself thoroughly! Took some great pics, which I will post someday.

Then, after lunch, we went to Sea Life Park - Eddie and I went last year - we watched the Dolphin Show and got wet. Then because I found a coupon and saved $35 and then found out that they discounted the Dolphin Encounter by $30, I decided to let Eddie get up close and personal with Maui, the Atlantic bottle nosed dolphin. He got to "dance" with him and then the dolphin kissed him and he kissed the dolphin. (He thought that was kinda weird, kissing a boy dolphin!)

Then, after resting a little bit, Eddie and I had dinner with a friend from high school, who now lives here in Honolulu. It was fun catching up.

But I am tired. My wound has been draining more, if that is possible. It regularly leaks out. Dang! Part of the reason is that there are so many lumps and bumps, it's hard to get a good seal with the plastic adhesive over it, so when I move, a little hole is created. Good thing our place here has a washer and dryer.

Did I mention that our little one-bedroom with kitchenette place (with a decent sized sitting room), is right on Kailua Beach? It's a nice comfortable place and the owner and his daughter are very nice people.

I could get used to this . . .

We've got two more days here. I think after another sunrise walk and playing in the water in the morning, we may go for a drive to the NOrth Shore. I'll let you know what we do on the flip side!

Doing Fun Things With Family

Yesterday, Eddie and I drove to Seattle. We stopped by the Old Spaghetti Factory in Portland for lunch and then played in their mini-arcade.

Then, we drove the rest of the way to Seattle. We got here about 4:45 and promptly relaxed. I even had pizza delivered. My sis and her family arrived by about 8:46. Eddie was glad to see them as was I. I guess they ran into traffic.

This morning, we went to the Pacific Science Center so Eddie could see Mindbender Mansion. He loved this exhibit, by the way. Kenna (my niece), Eddie, and I did all the puzzles on the clue card and were inducted into the Mindbender Mansion Wall of Fame. Eddie also loved the Spelling Fever. We watched the IMAX film, Legends of Flight in 3D. It was a cool show, even if it was a big cheerleading show by Boeing, who probably sponsored the film. Very cool graphics.

Rena and Henk wanted to watch the Blazer game and I managed to find a sports bar across the street from the Space Needle and near our hotel -gotta live smartphones!- and then after dinner, I took the kiddos to the Space Needle and we went to the top. It was chilly and rainy, but very cool to see the lights. Someone had a huge peace sign on Queen Anne hill. I also lived the big snow globe white lights at the valet entrance to the Space Needle. Very pretty. I even took the kids to the gift shop and we all found souvenirs. And the Blazers won the game. Then the kids even went to the hot tub.

My legs are tired and achey, my lower back is achey, and maybe I should've stayed home and saved the money (even though I budgeted for it). But you know, it was worth it. I enjoyed doing something fun with Eddie -I mean, Eddie and Kenna and I tested our wits at Mibdbender Mansion which I enjoy - and with my family. I guess I just think that I go through so much crap that I deserve to do something fun. And I want to make fun memories with Eddie because, well, you never know.

BTW, Eddie tied the top score at the Spelling Fever. That was worth it right there.

Life is still good, even with satellite tumors. Life is good. And since it was my off week from Abraxane, I had enough energy to enjoy my time here. Yay!

Post-Christmas Happenings

Christmas was fun - dad did a tremendous job getting all the food and the house ready beforehand. I "slaved" over more silly rhymes as Eddie and his cousins do a little treasure hunt.

My own Christmas was a "warm" one: I received a hat, a fleece jacket, a couple of scarves, and a comforter for the bed, plus some jewelry. Fun stuff!

Eddie's big gift from Santa was a Nintendo DSi XL. He loves it; plus he got some gift certificates, games, a book called "The Day My Butt Went Psycho", plus some puzzles/brain teasers books. In other words, he was spoiled!

We are leaving later today to go to Seattle for a couple of days. My sister and her family are joining us. We'll be staying near the Space Needle because Eddie wants to go to the Pacific Science Center, to see an exhibit called Mindbender's Mansion. Harry Potter is also showing. We'll go there tomorrow.

It's rainy and blustery here today. I will be driving solo, but I plan to take my time. My niece will ride with us as we may leave earlier than my sister (she's sleeping, having just worked the night shift). We'll stop and have lunch in Portland and maybe stop at Great Wolf Lodge so the kiddos can play in the Arcade there.

Yep, it's definitely a kid trip. But maybe Henk will hang out with the kiddos while we go shopping . . . or maybe find a casino? Ha!

Weekend Trip to Bend

Eddie and I went to Bend for the night this past week-end. My friend, B., and her dog, Shika, joined us for the drive over the mountains. Shika spent most of her time hanging out next to Eddie or with her head in her lap while Eddie played on the iPad on Shika's head. It was cute. They seemed to really bond. We stopped at the summit and played in the snow for about 30 min. Well, Eddie and Shika played. I had to rescue his boot from the snow and ended up with snow in my own shoes! : )

We had lunch in Bend on Saturday with B. and B.'s cousin and her husband. B's cousin is a quilter and has the most amazing quilting machine that cost $35,000 used. But it's saved her in this economy as it became her primary source of income in the recession. And, her quilts are beautiful.

Then, we went to my friend's house and got to meet her baby! We relaxed for a couple of hours and visited and then I took Eddie to Sun Mountain Fun Center. We played in the Arcade and then rode the Go-Karts and then the Bumper Cars. Fun fun fun!

My friend and I got to talk shop - we work in the same area in Alaska and have coauthored two papers together. We are working on a grant proposal, too, that's due in a couple of weeks. So, in that sense, it was also productive for work.

On Sunday, we had brunch in downtown Bend and then walked around Drake Park before it was time to pick up B and Shika and head home. Thank you, Bend B., for having us as guests, and thank you Corvallis B. and Shika for keeping us company on the drive over the mountains!

All in all, a good trip! Made even better by the fact that I can go 24 hours or more without changing my dressings! It's no longer leaking through! Also, the wound changes almost daily. It seems more of the satellite lesions are shrinking and have disappeared. The outer layers of skin are collapsing a bit into the cavity made by debriding the dead tissue. I can sleep on my side. I almost don't need to take Ibuprofen or Tylenol anymore for pain. My day at work went well today, too. I think I'm finally getting caught up! : )