Treatment is over-time for new things!

Hey guys! For those of you without facebook accounts, I promised I would put up some pics of my treatment. My last day of radiation was Friday Jan 23rd. I am on a break from chemo for 5 weeks! Score! When I do start chemo again, it will only be for monthly "pulses" (5 days of chemo per month).

For the most part, I had not problems during treatment. I didn't have headaches which was awesome because that meant I did not have to go back on the Decadron (steroids) which everyone knows I despise. Also, I never got sick, save for the one time (my first day of treatment) that I ate too much Thai food with Josh. I was able to work and go to treatment until January 5, when I went on short term disability to get through my last few weeks of treatment. The only thing to wear on me was getting up at 5, getting to work by 7, working until 3:30 and then going to the cancer center for treatment every week (m-f). I was usually exhausted by the weekend. I'm still a little bit of an old lady, going to bed before 9:30 PM. But as I've said before, I've been through worse things than Brain Cancer. I am hoping and praying that I will continue to respond well to treatment and live a long life.

Enjoying my private room on the 11th floor with a view of the SD valley:



Last day of radiation treatment pics. Now you can see the big machine, and get an idea of my daily routine. Only took about 10-25 minutes.



And here's my therapist Jesse getting things ready. Nice guy.



And a close up of the mask, the plastic mold of my face to keep me from moving while on the table.

It Sure Is Cold In Hockeytown

Had a great visit with my Grandpa and really surprised my Dad on my trip to Michigan. Went shopping with my sister at an OUTDOOR mall while it was snowing, saw the Wings beat Buffalo in the final three minutes, and took my 87 year old Grandpa to the theatre to see Gran Torino. Was fortunate enough to see my m&m's, They're my cousins of Islamic descent and they're 6 gals whose names each begin with the letter 'm' of course. I only got to see 3 of the 6, but I enjoyed every minute with those three. Came back Monday afternoon and didn't hesitate to call and text the family to let them know how sunny and warm it was back home in the Golden State.

A shot of the ice before the game. This time we sat on the opposite side of the cameras should our faces actually get on tv.

The Wings won, but only in the last three minutes of the game. Here's the goalie group pat on the head pic.

And the Tron reveals the final score:

More shots of the game. Gee, you'd think I only came for the Hockey ;)

Me and my beautiful Aunt Marianne

And My gorgeous m&m's





Here's my second cousins Janessa and Kaliah, bigger since the last time I saw them and twice as cute.





And now the Handsome guy in this photo is My Grandpa Sidney



and finally, my sister and I



I know, all that and no pictures of the snow? Use your imagination.

Thoughts Of A Sunburned Country

Ok everyone. So I've decided to THINK about it. I've decided not to be too scared to want to make any fun plans, and just go with it. These won't be pics you've never seen before, but they'll give you an idea of the places I want to go. And I want to go to each of them. Not just Sydney, but also Cairns, Ayers Rock (Uluru), Brisbane, Gold Coast, etc. Id have to take the train to some of these parts...but If I'm gonna go, I've got to do as much as I can. Now, the only thing I need is a friend to join me.

Some pics of Sydney Beaches



Some beaches have rock pools, carved from the rocks left at the beach.



Of course I want to see the desert



And the rainforest in Cairns



And of course the city of Sydney and all it has to offer



And yes, I've picked up Bill Bryson's In A Sunburned Country to read and get a little insight into the country I've loved from afar for so long.

A favorite pasttime. NOT for kids!!

So there's this story about a time when Lesley, myself, and some intervarsity friends were looking through our friends' Scott's alphabetical list of movies in the family collection. We found a typo, and that spawned my favorite little game called:

"Porn titles that Could (have been)."

Without any manipulation, these honest movie titles-said with a twist, could have been something completely different. Have fun. Laugh a little.


The Firm

The Inside Man

Gone In 60 Seconds

Dante's Peak (A personal favorite)

Deep Impact

Bring it On

What Lies Beneath

The Score

Bedtime Stories

The Girl Next Door


And for those with other tastes:


About A Boy

Wonder Boys

Riding In Cars With Boys

Bangkok Dangerous

Big Mama's House

The Fast and the Furious


And with that, time to get stuff done around the house. Hope everyone is having a great week.

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime

Christmas was great this year as always, but this year it actually snowed in Tehachapi on Christmas Day-late afternoon. Not a ton of snow, guess the week prior was filled with snow days, but I was happy to get some snow. I was happy until I had to walk to the theatre in the cold,icy wind-but it was good. We took some pictures on our way to Muna's for boxing day. My camera has got an excellent steady hand feature.


And this shot was through the desert on our way to Muna's:


More later, I was going to blog a bit tonight but I ended up watching a silly movie with my roommate. BUT, I got a new iPod dock/cdplayer thing from Jen and I LOVE IT!!!
Back to the grind tomorrow. This will be a big week. Love to all.

Coming Soon

Hello All,

Here's a picture for you.

Treatment update and Christmas tree!

Over thanksgiving Rachel kindly pointed out that I don't update my blog very much. She's right. I'm going to be more on top of things from now on...

I started my Radiation and Chemotherapy treatments on December 1st. It was a long day. I went to work and also started my training on our new systems software. But there were problems with my pharmacy and insurance and Dr's office with regard to having the prescriptions filled and approved on time. I almost missed my Radiation treatment because it looked like I wasn't going to get my medication in time. I was late to Radiation, but the staff were friendly and honestly the treatment is painless. My MRI's were far more uncomfortable and annoying.

I had plans to have dinner with Josh that night and I had a craving for Thai so we went to Thai Basil. Now I read all the instructions on my medication before taking the pills, but I overlooked the part about how I should only have 5 small meals a day. I ate way too much Thai food and ended up waking up at 3am this morning to be sick. so, I have to be more careful and follow instructions completely, but I believe I will do fine on this treatment.

I got a small tree for our house because I love the smell of a fresh tree, but it was much harder for me to decorate a noble fir than I had expected. Growing up we always had the Douglas fir, but I think I still did a pretty good job.



I also stopped by late this afternoon at the Children's Home and saw some of my old friends and coworkers. It was a nice visit. I really miss them and some of the work that I did while I was a part of the team.