P&P Only Not

Today was Pajamas and Pancake Day at the preschool. My absolute most favoritist day of the entire school year. Seriously. Who doesn’t like to come to work in comfy jammies? And who doesn’t like pancakes?

Sadly, so very sadly for me I had to miss it. I kind of had my very own Pajamas and Pancake Day without the pancakes, though. And they were actually yoga pants and a t-shirt instead of jammies.

Last night I went for another sleep study. This time instead of getting released at 5:30 in the morning like I did HERE*, I had to stay for what they call a latent sleep study to test for narcolepsy. A latent sleep study takes place after the night time sleep study and is when you’re awake for about 2 hours and then you take a 20 minute nap. Then they wake you and you’re up for another 2 hours and then you take another 20 minute nap. They do this four or five times, which sounds great and all, except I think it’s pretty much the same thing as a torture technique better known as sleep deprivation. You just get into a deep sleep and they’re waking you up. Torture.

I had to pack food to eat because there’s no walking over to the hospital cafeteria in your jammies while hooked to all these leads. As I ate my 100 calorie whole wheat bagel tops with Weight Watcher’s light cream cheese that I washed down with not cold/not warm water I couldn’t help but think I could be eating a pancake and a slice of bacon and sipping a hot cup of coffee right now. Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that. No coffee for me, though I could smell Rob the technician’s coffee in the room next to mine. Like I said – Torture.

Rob released me after my fourth nap around 2:30 or so. I asked about my results and he said I fell asleep with each nap. I wanted to tell him I knew that because I was there. But that would have been rude. So I guess I failed the test. Or maybe I passed it. I’m not really sure.

Lucky for me, since it wasn’t 0-dark-thirty, it was rainy so I just kept the hood to my sweatshirt on until I got home so no one could see my spiky, sticky-outy hair.

Never one to be a whiner (just go with it, people), it wasn’t all bad. I did get to read a lot. Still, I’m thinking we’ll be having pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning. And coffee. And maybe even a nap. A real nap.

*I wrote this post the day I was to go back for my follow up sleep study. Contrary to what I wrote in today’s post, I whined about having to go back all day long and kept hoping the sleep lab would lose power or something and my study would be cancelled. As I was packing my stuff up, grumbling the whole time, the phone rang. Todd answered it and it was Rob saying the lab had lost power and the sleep study was cancelled. NO LIE!! Then he told Todd he didn’t think I’d need a follow up because the CPAP machine has all the information he needs. I thought I’d gotten off super lucky until my doctor decided I should be tested for narcolepsy.

2 AM and I’m Still Awake…

But I’m not writing a song.* I wish I was writing a song. But instead I have to pee. But I can’t. Oh, I’ve tried. Several times.

Have you ever seen the movie “A League of Their Own”? Do you remember this part?

That’s the part where Tom Hanks goes to the locker room urinal and starts peeing and he goes and goes and goes… and goes and goes some more. Well I’m a little jealous of his drunken, crude self right now.

At 12:30 this morning I realized I have a UTI. I tried to ignore it, but there’s no ignoring the feeling of an over-full bladder and no way to get any relief. So now I’ve downed about 20 ounces of water and am working on a cup of herbal tea before I drink some more water and hopefully that will flush everything enough for some relief. I even considered driving to the store right now and picking up some cranberry juice, but I think that can wait.

The problem with all of this is that tomorrow today is my last day at work for the week and I have things I need to get done before we leave on Thursday to go see Taylor. Not only that, but some of the preschool staff is going to start meeting at 7:30 on Wednesdays for a pre-preschool devotional and I’m going. I’m definitely going. There’s going to be coffee. And food. Why would I wanna miss all that??

And Thursday! We’re going to be in the truck for several hours and I can just see how happy Todd would be to stop at every.single.bathroom between here and Lynchburg, stretching a 6+ hour trip into a 12 hour trip.

But that’s not going to happen. I’m going wash my bladder out with so much cranberry juice and herbal tea and water it’s not going to know what hit it! Like a cleansing tsunami! Of course, I’ll probably be spending half my day at work in the bathroom. Maybe I can pull my computer into the roomy handicap stall and just work from there.

And why am I writing a post about the need to urinate? I have no idea other than to say it’s 2 AM in the morning and I’m still awake – but only kind of.

*Breathe (2 AM) by Anna Nalick

Gluten Tag, Mein Freunds

I’m thinking of going gluten-free. Or at least mostly gluten-free. Or maybe I’ll start with little baby steps and go gluten-free for breakfast. There’s no gluten in coffee, right??

Last November I had a bout with diverticulitis and it was not pleasant. I’ve also had other issues throughout my GI tract and I’m thinking it might be a gluten sensitivity. Any feedback on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

As a favor to my coworkers I opted to stay home today. I’m selfless that way. Besides, I had brought work home to do last night, but it never got done. Unfortunately I didn’t get it finished today, either. Why? Because I’m entrenched in the third “Girl” book – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. What a series! I would love nothing better than to just turn off this computer and read until I finish, wee hours of the morning or whenever. But I’m not going to do that. Stupid conscience.

 

 

HA!

Last week I had some blood work done and the results came back today. Everything was great and well within range except my thyroid. It was a little low.

For years I’ve routinely had the following conversation with my endocrinologist:

Me:  I’m pretty sure my thyroid levels are going to come back low.

Dr.:  And what makes you say that?

Me:  I’m tired a lot and I can’t seem to lose weight.

Dr.:  Are you eating healthy and exercising?

Me:  Well, no.

Dr.: Mm-hm.  Let’s just see what the lab says.

Strangely enough, my thyroid levels were always within normal limits. Turns out if you eat large portions of junk and don’t exercise you won’t lose weight.

So imagine my delight when the nurse told me today that my thyroid is a little low! Especially now that I AM eating right (for the most part) and exercising (some). Up my thyroid meds and watch me blow past the other neighbors in the Biggest Loser competition!

Another Six Months

So I saw the White Russian today. As doctor’s appointments go it was fairly pleasant. My biggest complaint every time I go is that they’re too prompt and I don’t get to read nearly as much in the waiting room as I’d like to. Which was a crying shame today because I’m reading this fabulous book that Laurie Kingston, a Mothers With Cancer friend of mine, wrote: Not Done Yet: Living Through Breast Cancer. She started a blog at the time of her breast cancer diagnosis and the book is a compilation of her posts. I’ll be doing a complete review when I finish, but suffice it to say I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Kind of a weird thing to say considering it’s about her experience with breast cancer, isn’t it? But she’s funny and her way of dealing with things strongly resonates with me. And that’s all you get until I finish, which could have been today if the oncologist’s office was just a little less efficient.

On the way back to the scale I asked the nurse if I could just tell her how much I weighed and if so, I’m 125. She answered with, “So am I. But you’re going to have to stand on the scale anyway.” Then we went in the room for the preliminary vitals and blood work. Because I had lymph nodes removed I can’t have blood pressure or blood draws or anything that could aggravate the lymph system and cause lymphedema in my left arm. When the nurse asked which arm I drew a total blank. For a minute I couldn’t remember which side was okay to use. We both laughed and agreed that was a great thing.

Vitals taken and blood sucked, she handed me a robe and left the room. Which meant I had to disrobe from the waist up. Which meant persons other than myself would be seeing my underarms. D’oh!! Not only are left armed vitals off limits, so is shaving the left underarm. If you’ve been around here for the last couple of years you know I went through three sessions of laser hair removal which seemed to do the trick. Except it didn’t and now I have to go back for a touch up, though I keep forgetting to make the appointment and I hardly ever Veet because it’s so inconvenient and it kind of burns, too. But do you know what I say to sparsely hairy armpits at the doctor’s office? “Whatever.”

The appointment itself was very good and almost great. I think we spent at least half the time discussing college choices for Taylor – my doctor is pushing for Penn State and laments that his girls chose Yale, Harvard and Temple. Not a huge concern for us. But this appointment was supposed to be about me so let’s get back to that.

My blood work was great (surprise, surprise, my white count was on the low side of normal). My vitals were great. My tumor markers were low. Everything was as it should be which is very good. I’ll get a bone density test in January, see the doctor in March and we’ll be that much closer to my 5 years.

The one glitch in the appointment is that I will be on the Arimidex two years longer than originally prescribed. The plan had been post-chemo treatment for five years which for me was two years of Tamoxifen followed by three years of Arimidex. There’s been a new study, however, that says there’s a better success rate when the patient stays on the Arimidex for five whole years regardless of how long she had been on any other post-chemo medication. A little disappointing, but I’m not going to complain about it (at least not at the moment). It’s small beans compared to the grand scheme of things.

Finally I checked out and high tailed it for the Starbuck’s down the street for my venti White Chocolate Mocha with whip to complete my visit. Because a trip to the doctor’s isn’t over until I’m sipping that sweet nectar of life and making yummy sounds. Besides, my oncologist’s office is about 40 minutes away and I needed something for the ride home.

Just Another Oncology Appointment

This coming Wednesday I’m going to see my wonderful oncologist, otherwise known as The White Russian, for my 6 month check up. I’m pretty sure I know how it will pan out. I’ll sit in the waiting room happily reading until the nurse calls my name. She and I will walk back to the nurse’s station while she blames me for the weight she’s gained because I happened to tell her about Hope’s Cookies and now she can’t ever drive by there without stopping. Then, just to be spiteful I’m sure, she’ll make ME stand on the scale (at which time I’ll tell her again that I’ll be a good 30 pounds less the next time she sees me) and drain a couple vials of blood from my arm.

Once I get to the examination room I’ll be depressed about the weight she just recorded for all of eternity and The White Russian will walk in, disturbing my lamentations, and say how great it is to see a healthy person. Then I’ll feel bad about my whining when I would take every single ounce and then some if it meant not having cancer anymore.

He will ask how my summer was and what my family did. I’ll tell him we drove to Arkansas for a week to visit friends and family and how we didn’t get to see half the people we would have liked to. Then I’ll tell him how I flew to Seattle the following week to spend some time in a beach house with four other women. We’ll also talk about the tight, tingling, almost painful pressure my left arm feels whenever I fly or even ride in the car for any length of time without any support and he’ll look for signs of lymphedema. Thankfully he won’t find any unusual swelling and I’ll be told to keep wearing the compression sleeve when I fly and hopefully we’ll dodge this particular bullet.

After that we’ll discuss the stiffness in my joints and other bodily aches and we’ll decide that since it’s not debilitating pain I’ll just remain on the Arimidex for another 15 months. This is when I’ll realize I’m only little more than a year out from my 5-year goal and that will make me happy.

Most likely The White Russian will order a bone density scan because the combination of no ovaries and the Arimidex make for early onset osteoporosis. He’ll also probably decide I should have a colonoscopy because I haven’t had one yet and colon cancer is somehow closely related to breast cancer. Not only that, but there is a history of colon cancer in my family.

We will also look at my blood work which will no doubt look good except for my white count and other immune system related values. They might be within normal limits, but I can tell you right now they’re going to be low. How do I know this? Well for one thing they’re always on the low side of normal. In the nearly four years I’ve been finished with chemo they have never gotten very far above the line. But I’ve also managed to wear myself down which always results in a thick and swollen tongue, my own personal telltale sign of a low WBC. When it’s really bad, like it was after my trip to Seattle, minor cuts and blisters won’t heal and I’ll get a funky feeling that I just can’t describe so I’m not even going to try.

Thrown in between all this clinical stuff he’ll ask about my kids. When I tell him Taylor is now a senior in high school he’ll ask about his desired major and college. He’ll also ask how Katie likes high school and what do I think about being on this end of parenting. The White Russian will tell me a little about his family and their summer and before I know it my visit will be over.

I’ll then get to Peggy’s desk and we’ll chat for a moment and schedule my next appointment for sometime around March or so. And while I’m so happy I don’t have to make weekly or even monthly visits to the oncologist anymore, I’ll be just the teensiest bit sad that I don’t get to see these people for another six months. But then I’ll stop at Starbuck’s on my way home for a Venti White Chocolate Mocha with whip (Weight Watcher’s points don’t count on oncology days) and all will be right with the world.

I do wish I hadn’t gained all this weight (which I blame all on the various treatments I’ve been through since diagnosis) and I would love it if my body would be more cooperative and less stiff and achy. I’m very conscious about the possibility of lymphedema and I’m a little angry about the whole osteoporosis thing. The thing that bothers me the most right now is the white counts and the swollen tongue. How weird is that? It’s always swollen, but it gets worse when I’m feeling bad or overly tired and it gets in the way when I’m trying to talk and I’m always biting the sides with my sharp carnivorous molars.

Nobody ever tells you about all the stuff you have to deal with AFTER treatment, even if you don’t have any more cancer. But I’ll take all of it just to get to my 5-year goal and hear those magic words, “No Evidence of Disease”. And as I’m driving home I’ll start relaxing, even though I didn’t realize just how tense I was. I always expect a good report, but somewhere in the far reaches of my mind I suppose I fear the worst.

Finally, I’ll start thinking about those I know who don’t get to hear those words that I’m sure to. The women who are dealing with a recurrence or a metastasis, those who seem to be losing their fight, and especially those we’ve had to say goodbye to. My joy at another good report will be dimmed by the sadness for those who are not as fortunate and I’ll be reminded just how horrific cancer is.

And in six months I’ll do it all again.

Cross-posted at Mothers With Cancer

It’s All Good

Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy.

Psalm 28:6

As some of you so graciously pointed out to me, it is now Saturday. Life is mostly good with a little of the not so great thrown in to keep things interesting.

When last we met I told you I had nothing going on after I picked the kids up from play practice at 5:30. Wednesday night I should have been using my time to clean the kitchen, put the stuff back under the sink, catch up on laundry, go through the junk pile (really “pile” should be plural, maybe even the plural of plural, but I don’t want you all to know what an incredible slob I am) on the counter and that sort of thing. Instead I was curled up in the big green chair trying not to move for fear my head would explode (a common happening for migraine sufferers) and ended up going to bed between 9:30 and 10:00.

Whilst I happily snoozed and dreamed of a clean kitchen, healthy puppies and chocolate that makes you lose weight the phone rang. Looking at the clock as I picked up the receiver, I was not pleased to see it was 4:00. It was Todd. He had left Princeton at 2-ish because he felt so horrible and didn’t want me to freak out when I heard the garage door open in the next 15 minutes or so. “Just go back to sleep and I’ll see you when you come down. I’m going to hang downstairs with Sookie and probably snooze on the couch.”

So I rolled over to go back to sleep, but all I could think about was all the stuff in the middle of the kitchen floor and the nasty dishes and the junk piles (we’ve already established the extent of this). I thought I’d had until Friday to get the house back into some semblance of order! Todd is not a demanding man and I thank God daily for that, but seriously the kitchen looked condemnable.

Finally I dozed off for another 30 minutes or so until my alarm went off and I came downstairs to the man and the dog curled up on the couch, blissfully asleep. I hated that he had to come home because he was sick, but it made going to work on Thursday so much easier on me for worrying about Sookie.

Todd went to the doctor that day and he was diagnosed with a severe case of bronchitis – which we already knew. He had a horrible case of pneumonia several years ago and ever since then he’s been terribly susceptible to bronchitis. Sookie wasn’t eating, drinking or taking her medicine so he took her to the vet and had her admitted for IV fluids and antibiotics.

Thursday night was another one of those nights – work late; pick up Katie and Shelby at 4:00; get home close to 4:30; leave at 5:30 to get Taylor to play practice and Katie to voice lessons by 6:00 (I like taking Katie to voice, though, because I sit and read for 30 minutes); go from voice lessons to the church for band practice because Katie is singing Sunday night; leave band practice and pick up Taylor at 9:00.

Friday mornings are when I get to hang out with my Homies. I always come away revived and had really been looking forward to my weekly refreshing. BUT… I hadn’t been able to do my laundry or clean or anything so I skipped the Homies and tried to catch up on laundry. I didn’t finish, but I did make a significant dent.

Todd was home with bronchitis; Katie ended up staying home from school with a sore, scratchy throat and major head congestion; Taylor texted me from school (bad Taylor!) asking if I could come pick him up because he felt horrible, but he decided it was allergies and he thought he could probably make it the rest of the day; Sookie was at the animal hospital. It was like the plague or something! Happily, though, I picked up the Sookster and she is back to her normal, hyper self. She’s eating, drinking, jumping, playing – all that stuff and her nose is wet! She is on a ton of medicine and they’re still not sure what caused the fever, but I’m happy she’s doing so much better.

Which brings us to today. Sookie is good. Katie is good. Taylor is good. My kitchen is CLEAN. No junk piles and no dirty dishes. The laundry still isn’t caught up because Taylor did his laundry all day and it’s too late for me to start now. Wine club is in an hour.

The only bad thing in the mix is Todd. Well, HE’S not bad, but he is bad sick. Now I’ve mentioned this several times before and I’ll say it again. Compassion is not my thing. It doesn’t matter how many times I take a spiritual gifts inventory, compassion is always looooooow. (That means really, really low.) But even I feel bad for him. His fever will hardly break and he says he feels like an elephant is sitting on his chest. He was really looking forward to getting together with the neighbors this evening, too. I guess I’ll just have to have a good enough time for both of us!

So life is much better today, just as I prayed it would be. Todd shouldn’t have to travel for a few weeks and hopefully he’ll start to feel better ASAP. I sure am glad God is more merciful than I am!!

Here’s an aside. Taylor loves shock value. Really a lot. He was waiting for Kristen to come over this afternoon and she was bringing a sack of sugar that she’s going to have to take care of for a class she has at school. He said they were going to decorate it together. “What?” I asked. And he said, “When Kristen gets here we’re going to make a baby together.” Oh yes he did!! Those exact words!! Not something a mother wants to hear her 16-year-old say! I have no idea where he gets that sort of behavior.

Sickies, Weight, Age, and Other Depressing Subjects

I’m almost afraid of jinxing myself by typing this, but since I’m not the superstitious type I’m going to type it anyway. Everyone in my family has been sick except for me. Taylor started it off, to be quickly followed by Katie and Todd. Apparently all those immune system workouts at the preschool last year has finally paid off. Still, I wish the rest of the family would feel better. And stop breathing on me.

Todd’s folks gave us a Wii for Christmas, including Wii Sport and Wii Fit. There’s a fitness test on Wii Sport that measures balance, stamina and strength and then tells you your fitness age. The first time I did it I came up as 57. I’m 43. The goal is 20. No biggy, though. I figured after a couple days of getting into the swing of things I’d test closer to my real age. So two days later I took the test again. This time I scored at 77. As in 20 years older than my already too old score of 57. Made me want to throw a shoe at the TV. I made up for it with my last test, though, where I came up as 31. I think I’ll stop with the testing for a while and just go with that score.

To do the Wii Fit you have to make a profile. You give your age and your height, you stand on the balance board to be weighed and it gives you your BMI. It also plumps up your cute little Wii character in direct proportion to your BMI. Which I find very sad because if she is my virtual self shouldn’t she look how I WANT to look? You know – tall, thin, alluringly sexy as opposed to short, pudgy and middle aged – how I look in real life.

When I get past my Wii image I thoroughly enjoy it. I do a little yoga, a little balance fitness and a little aerobics for 30 minutes a day and bank my points. Right now I hold the lead in slalom, ski jump, hula hoop*, tight rope and running (I think). And I’m just competitive enough to want to keep those leads.

So the whole point is to exercise every day and watch my little Wii character’s BMI go down. So far I’ve watched it go up. I gained 3.1 pounds in three days and watched my fluffy little Wii girl get fluffier. In my head I know I couldn’t have gained 3 pounds of fat that quickly, but it sure is discouraging! No matter. I still plan on having fun with it. Maybe eventually my little Wii chick will be short, thin and middle aged. I’m not keen on the short or the middle aged, but I’ll take it.

My only other depressing subject is about tomorrow. The Monday after a two week break. I’m looking forward to getting back to work. I’m just not looking forward to getting up early. And do you know why I get up early? It’s not because I have to leave the house at an early hour or anything. No. It’s because I’m a bloomin’ good mom, that’s why! I could easily sleep until 7:30, maybe closer to 8:00 and still get to work by 9:00. But I get up early enough to take my shower and then see Taylor before he leaves for school at 6:45. I could take my shower after that, but then I wouldn’t get to hang out with Katie before she leaves at 7:20. For sure I could take my shower after that, but then Sookie would be in her crate from 7:30 until Taylor gets home from school at 3:00. So I sacrifice that which I hold near and dear to my heart just so I can be the loving, nurturing, selfless mom that I am, dangit!

Along those lines, I’m happy to say that it’s already the fourth of January and I’m STILL in the running for Mother of the Year 2009. I’m feeling good about it. I really think this is my year!

*If you’re interested, and I can’t imagine you would be, Todd wrote a post about me and the hula hoop.

October Musings

Where has the year gone? I can hardly believe it’s already October. Mostly I’m very happy about it. I love the cooler temperatures and the changing leaves and the smells of autumn. And as I said in an earlier post, every weekend this month is something unusually fun for me.

At the same time, however, I can’t escape breast cancer. Now granted I have learned to embrace pink and I write about my experience, but that’s all on my time. If I want to hang up my breast cancer hat for day or so I can. Not this month, though.

I’m hoping this year will be a little better than last year. Not once during October of 2007 did I talk about breast cancer. It wasn’t until November when I wrote Blasted October, a post lamenting my dislike of Breast Cancer Awareness. I mean, for hundreds of thousands of us every month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I am farther along this year than I was last year, but I still haven’t totally accepted my new normal. I’m getting there. Slowly, but I’m working on it. So I may not write a lot about breast cancer, at least not on this blog. Then again every post might be about the disease. Not likely, but I suppose it could happen.

On a VERY happy note that totally overshadows whatever feeling I may have about all the pink ribbons out there, our weather is going to be Fallish tomorrow and Friday we’re driving to Rutgers University to meet up with our Hawaiian friends and watch their daughter play soccer. She was recently named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, a first for Rutgers in six years!

So watch me go, all enjoying October and having a good time and ignoring the pink splattered throughout the rusts and golds and burgundies and oranges of Fall. I may not have the best eye, but even I know pink clashes with the warmer tones of Autumn!

Blah, Blah, Blah…

I feel like I’ve got nothing to say. “When have you ever let that stop you before?”, you might be asking. And you’re right! I’ve never let the absence of something to say stop me. So welcome to today’s installment of Mundane Musings.

Remember a few weeks ago I was all pumped about starting Weight Watchers and I was going to take it one day at a time and yadda, yadda, blase’ skippy? I did great for two weeks. Really awesome. Then there was a dinner and then a birthday and then another dinner and then a barbecue and then a movie AND a dinner and then, well, you get the idea. I’ve totally dropped the ball. Add to that trying to cut costs where we can and you have no more Weight Watchers’ membership.

Like my sister said, why pay someone to tell her what she already knows. I still like the accountability and the tools Weight Watchers offers, but my actions are not making the money worth it. So I’m going to try this on my own and see what happens. I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes this morning and hope to do another 30 minutes later today. I figure if I’m halfway careful about what I eat and do something for an hour a day then maybe, just maybe I’ll be able to lose some of this.

This whole weight thing can make me very maudlin. (Maybe I should call today’s installment Maudlin and Mundane Musings.) Again, it’s all a matter of focus. When I focus on the fact my Fall weather clothes are tight and the image in the mirror and the discomfort while trying to tie the shoes, etc., I slip into that familiar funk. BUT when I focus on what really matters – my relationship with Christ – then it’s not so bad. I’m sad to say my focus has been a little off. AGAIN. Thank God for my Home Team! They’re like spiritual crack to the junky I am.

Which brings me to another musing. I’ve been busy going about God’s business – working on the women’s website for church. I LOVE it. I have so much to learn, but I’m having a blast. The challenge is exciting and watching this idea take shape is awesome.

That said, it’s so easy for me to think I’m nurturing my spiritual life when I’m doing something like this – some type of service – or listening to Christian music or having deep discussions with friends or whatever. Those things are great in and of themselves, but you (read “I”) can do these things and totally ignore God, fooling myself into thinking I’m doing what I need to.

Okay. So I guess that’s a little confession for you I wasn’t actually planning on making. Onto safer topics and more mundane…

Our weather is gorgeous. I love Fall. Seriously love it. Admire, adore, cherish, embrace, enamor, fancy, idolize, like and delight in autumn. I think we may be done with the 80′s altogether. We may even be done with the upper 70′s. Oh please, from my fingers to God’s ears.

October is shaping up to be a busy but incredibly fun month. Something awesome in every single weekend. November will hopefully be a month of rest. Except my folks are coming to visit and we have a few fun things planned then, too.

Let’s see. What else can I bore you with blog about? OH! Those of you who have been around a while may remember the mysterious skin issues I had the first half of 2007. I saw a couple different doctors and no biopsy, no test, no body could figure out what was wrong with me. Then the problem just kind of went away. Well, it’s back. Thankfully not anything like it was last year, but I do get these terribly itchy welts in the same area for no apparent reason. They they just disappear. It’s the craziest thing.

Alright. I think that’s enough of nothing for now. But I leave you with pictures of Sookie and her BFF Brady. Brady comes over nearly every morning around 9:00 and they play for 30 minutes to an hour. Then they go home and take really good naps! Just like kids.