10-31 Have a Spooktacular day!

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday. 
 I'm on Vacation today. (It's a good state of mind) 

Although one of these giant inflatable heads look like a lot of fun!

10-30 Stocking the freezer

My my taste buds came back for the weekend and I'm looking ahead to next week so I decided to cook while I have the time. 
In the oven as I write;
Sliced and peeled Granny Smith Apples (I'm not allowed raw fruit or veg) 
Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes (2 of my favorite super foods combined and easily freezable) 
recipe here; http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2010/10/health-starts-here-sweet-potato-quinoa-cakes/
Crunchy Quinoa Cereal.  recipe here:http://ohsheglows.com/2010/02/06/homemade-crunchy-maple-quinoa-cereal/

If you haven't tried quinoa yet please do! I also enjoy it as a hot breakfast cereal (think of cooking it like you would oatmeal and adding toppings) 
My parents left some whole milk in the fridge and it's brewing away in a warm spot and will be yogurt by bedtime. 

10-29 Thanks Val!

My sister, Valerie, sent me a goodie bag in the mail. Cute pink t-shirt, a pink ribbon cookie cutter, some cookies already made and the recipe for Grammy Bricks's Cream Cheese cut out cookies (they are awesome) Thanks Val!

I used some chicken stock to make Avgolemono; Greek Lemon Chicken Soup. Better than plain old stock which I was NOT drinking every day as prescribed. 


A few of us got together last night to design our t-shirts for the Komen Walk in 2 weeks. We ruined only one T trying to figure out the iron on decal and that's ok because now it is my practice T for the puffy paint and trying out the addition of ribbons and decorating the edges. 

10-27 New Hat

New Hat. 

Winter colors but still lightweight for Austin weather. Cool front today with a high of 67* :) 

Got this at Parker Wigs on Anderson Lane http://parkerserenitywigspa.com/

Thank you Diane for the gift certificate!

10-28 I have a crush

I have a crush on my opthomologist. He gives me goodie bags full of  samples and promised me a medicine that will help my eyelashes grow in faster and fuller after my treatments are done. 


He squeezed me in for a visit this afternoon because I've been tearing constantly the past 2 days. He had to go back into the tear ducts and flush them out  like last time. . First the offer of botox for my eye- lid spasms and now lash grower....this man could have a sideline in  aesthetics. 

10-26 Happy Wednesday

Looking for a good design to "Bling" our T-shirts for the Komen walk on the 13th. Bought some iron on transfer paper that you use with an inkjet printer, hoping it is as easy as the directions  look. 
Michael is off today and taking the parents to Franklin's BBQ. This is the trailer  that is getting all the reviews for best BBQ in Austin in the past few months. 
http://www.franklinbarbecue.com/

10-25

Made it back to yoga last night. The beginner class felt like an advanced workout this time around but it was good to stretch and loosen up some muscles and more importantly stretch my brain.
Side effects: the hits keep coming, the list is getting longer and I won't bore you with the details.  Cut back at work to about 30 hours last week. Looking forward to a morning in January or February when I might wake up and feel "normal" again.   

10-23 Too much Tex-Mex?

Didn't think it possible but 3 times in 4 days was too much Tex-Mex for me. Office lunch out for a co-worker's birthday and twice with the out-of state Parents who have to stock up while in Texas. 
Of the 3, El Chile on Manor gets my top vote. It was my first time there. Chuys is always a tried and true top contender and Polvos fell  into the too greasy and too cheesy category for me. Of course my taste buds are still sub par this week with Chemo tongue. 
I'm anemic and neutropenic based on Friday's blood work.  I'm also up a few pounds from lack of exercise.  
photo later, I'm still sitting around in my PJ's 

Took the Parents to SoCo so they could experience the Austin weekend vibe.

10-19 Stocking up

Yeah, The parents made me some chicken stock. (Now I just have to remember to drink some every day).

I found a sweater to match my new earrings perfectly!

10-18 Parents on the way

Windy cool front blowing in, loving the drop in temps. Nice to get out of the 90's. MY parents gt in late tonight for a week long visit. I'm hoping I can talk them into cooking the stinky chicken stock that I'm supposed to be drinking but can't stand the smell of.

Neighbor D and her son little D  gave me a cool coffee cup filled with Lindt truffles. 

Nala Kat decided she had to have first pick. She got one out of the cup and carried it off to the the sofa where she  batted it around a few times then left it in favor of her dry cat food. She's obviously never had a Lindt before! 

10-14 Two for One

I had so many nice things happen today and I won't post tomorrow so you get 2 for 1 today. 
The Chemo went quickly and I got a belated bday gift of some new earrings from my chemo buddy (thanks L, I love them) 

Checked the mail box on my way home and found a goodie bag from my Mom and sisters. I think they had a lot of fun wrapping so many little gifts. The note they sent along says I can unwrap it all now or save it up for the days I need it. I like that. Of course  I was as curious as Nala Kat and had to open 2 but  have lots more left. 

Also in the mail a Blue Cross  update and they approved payment for the $3500.00 genetic test I had in May. This was from the lab that wrote such a nice letter in my behalf petitioning BC to pay after it was originally declined. I am so happy about this! 


wishing you all a great weekend, see you in a few days. 

10-14 Git' er done!

Today is national mammography day (according to my cancer calendar).  Please use this as a reminder to check in with yourself and recognize if anything is going on with your body. 
I happened to catch a few minutes of a radio interview with Lance Armstrong this morning. As much as I might not like hearing about his messy personal life I find no fault with his inspirational messages and his continued support of raising money for research.  Check out  the Livestrong site for tons of relevant Cancer  information. http://www.livestrong.org/

Today is Chemo round #5 for me. Last night I finally made it back to yoga. I took a Kundalini of sound class. The instructor mentioned that one of the sequences we practiced would give rise to "an avalanche of bliss"......all I can say is BRING IT ON! 

Sat Nam ya'll.


WAHE GURU
is the Guru Mantra, the mantra of ecstasy. It is not translatable but chanting it elevates the spirit.
http://www.kundaliniyoga.org/mantra.html

10-13 Hairy News

Lucky Lucky me! I can’t remember the last time I shaved my legs.  The Dr. said some people only loose the head hair and that seemed like such a shame. I mean really, don’t you think that we at least deserve to not have to shave our legs for a few months too?

 Arm hair still going strong. Eyebrows thinning and eyelashes barely hanging on.  Nose hairs gone. 

10-12 Join Me Sunday November 13th

You're invited: 
Sunday November 13th 
Susan G Komen race for the cure 5k in downtown Austin. 
This will be one week after my 6th and last chemo treatment. 
I'm looking forward to walking with a group of my friends on Team Cassandra


Homepage for information    http://www.komenaustin.org/
Link to register http://austin.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/AUS_AustinAffiliate?fr_id=2282&pg=entry

$30.00 for an adult non-timed entrance

10-11 Lyrics

Not much to report these past few days. Feeling tired all the time, missing yoga. 
Gearing up for round #5 this Friday. I told someone today it's like knowing you are going to have a car accident on Friday and feel like sh*t all weekend. Knowing it's coming but not being able to stop it from happening. Stocked the freezer and the DVR is loaded with new Fall episodes. 
Loving our little Texas cold snap that took the temps down into the 70's! 

I've got these lyrics stuck in my head

from One Republic "Good Life"
Oh, this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life


and if you want to hear it here is a link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZhQOvvV45w

10-6 Looking back & Forward

Doing some computer file clean-up and storage. Came across these photos from July 4th 2003. 

I'm sitting on a boat on Lake Travis. Not sure why I look so much more tan in the second photo. (lighting?) 

Goal for 2012.....I want to look Healthy like this again!

10-4 Back to Basics

I'm still practicing yoga but I've scaled back in number and style of classes. I find myself taking more "beginner friendly" classes. We talk about the basics and building the pose from the foundation (ground up). 

It's humbling that I sometimes struggle with poses that I used to nail and I've learned to check my ego at the door. Time spent on my mat is still often the best hour of the day. 

Sporting the pink magnet bracelet from my sister, a new Fall hat in navy blue and dangly earrings from a friend (I admired them and she took them off and handed them to me! how awesome is that?)

This is part of the daily dose......

10-3 Supplement list

As promised, here's the list. Last count 16 pills a day and a few spoons of stuff added to food or drink. In addition this week I am taking the antibiotics again for low white blood count and steroid eye drops for the tear duct issue. 
As always the vehicle or method of getting all this stuff daily takes effort. I don't like the way the lecithin tastes no matter what I add it to. I even made a batch of peanut butter and lecithin cookies but I was not impressed. 
Some of them are to be taken with food and some are not. Some are to be taken over the course of the day...etc....and the high pill count because I am taking high doses.

DIM; promotes hormone metabolism (my tumor was hormone influenced)
Lecithin; protects nerves and the brain
Glutamine powder; prevents nausea and nerve damage in the hands and feet (chemo related)
Taurine; protects heart from chemo damage
HMB; prevents muscle wasting during treatment
Calcium; helps protect against bone loss
D3; studies done with vitamin D or even plain old sunlight and cancer are showing good results
Milled Flaxseed; omega 3
Chicken stock; real homemade chicken stock has 20gr amino acids and protein
CoQ10; antioxidant
Multivitimin
B complex

noticing how tired and puffy my eyes look....

10-2 Weekend edition

Simple low key weekend and still feel like I got a lot done. Today I never even left the house but spent a few hours cooking and catching up with an old friend. 
Yesterday saw the movie 50/50, a comedy about cancer based on a true story. Enjoyed the frank humor and some of the surreal scenes.