Thursday, June 8, 2017

Birthdays

So, a long time ago in a far away land, one of my best friends said to me on her 40th birthday while she was taking me to disconnect from my pump, "What do you want to do on your 40th?"  I said, "If I make it, I want to go to Canyon Ranch."  "And I will go with you, she said."  That is not a easy promise.  And we did.  We met a great friend that I still see in Toronto.  Karissa has been with me through all of it.  On my worst days, with my head literallly in her lap, she has driven me, advocated for me and held me.  She has told me I can do it sometimes on two mile walk that I did not think I could or on a lap swim.  She has made me run to a play because we are late two weeks after bilateral lung surgery and said, "Frick, I am so sorry!"  She HATES BEING LATE and I just went with it because that is her and I probably would survive,  I was in down town Seattle after all.  And then she wanted to kill the staff for being 15 mins late on the show.  Although she did brake for a squirrel once and I was like, "Are you kidding me?!?!  I have a neddle in my port.....run it over...". Luckily that never happened again, cause she wouldn't.  She made me go on outing with my kids to show me I could.  How do you thank someone for that?  Anyway, we leave tomorrow.  We are both broke but she has time share.  We will have wonderful breakfast and coffee and walk and talking and female crap.  We will watch a movie and chill.  She has always said that I have to be on the old folks home with her so we can have fun......I think we are going to break the place.....thank God for Friends.....she is one of the best.

Happy Thursday, Ang

Friday, June 2, 2017

It's my birthday!!!!!

I have been running around and things have been changing on me nonstop for months.  I have been working extra and cooking EVERYDAY to keep cost down.  Mason now eats his lunch that I make at 10:30 (even though there is a new rule that NO PARENT knows about that your student cannot eat in class - interesting they have been doing is all year, who missed it?) and then he buys lunch.  He calls it Lunch #1 and Lunch #2.

So, today I wake up.  Tons of Birthday wishes...thank you.  I am grateful for the 10 years that I have had since my diagnosis and I also remember being sicker than a dog right after my birthday the first year, getting stitches out of my back on the 9th year ON MY BIRTHDAY, etc etc etc.  So here is what I did.....

For almost a year now, people have said to me, "You haven't been to the Covington Costco?!?!?!"  And I have been, "NO.....is it that special....I was at the loading dock once.....does that count?!?!?!"  OR, "You go to the Southcenter Costco?!?!??!  You are so brave!"  "Really?!??!" rolling my eyes.  So, today I did all the things I wanted to, like pay my bills, balance the Neely PTA account (sorry KAC you are tomorrow), talk to friends, and text a bunch of people.  Lunch.  Then off to do errands...UPS, mail something, Staples, pick up shoes, drop off shoes, etc.  And FINALLY Covington Costco.....first impression - parking stalls are HUGE!  Like you could get two cars in each one.  Approach.....nobody is there....it is like empty.  And as I approach some little kid is like, "Mommy, I think this is a busy day, we should come back."  SERIOUSLY - if you get to the door at Southcenter - you GO IN.  Bathroom....small.  And then I go up and down the aisles.  Pharmacy...same.  Dried foods...same.  Kids snacks - UNBELIEVABLY GIGANTIC.  Good if my kids were four.  Seasonal....small.  Clothing...small.  I have thrown somethings in my cart that I need, TP, etc.  I buy a couple gifts for Grant for his birthday and a Cooks Magazine for me (BEST COOKING MAGAZINE EVER!  It was for my birthday!).  And then I go to fresh food and booze.  Booze is split.  Beer on one side and wine and alcohol on the next....same.  But wine is next to Mattresses.  Kitchen is next to auto and batteries.  Little weird.  But here is the big difference.  EVERYONE was white and the one Asian had a T-shirt on with the continent of Africa on it - all my stereotypes were confused on that one.  Also, OLD, OLD, OLD people were there with canes......at Southcenter they would have been picked off for dead by the seasonal and adsorbed in the floor.  Also, all the Moms were sparkly with their hair done.....wha?  I ran into some friends of mine.  I was going to the bathroom and I saw this older gentleman with and "IDAHO" sweatshirt on saying, "Well, my other Granddaughter is involved with Basketball and Soccer!"  I was like, "Better say hi on the way back...."  When I returned, Arlene was there and I was like, "OMG, I heard you and saw the sweatshirt...."  He was like, "I knew it was you from the T-shirt!"  Yes, Zags again....I am in a rut.  Arlene is like, "What you doing up here?!?!?!"  "Two things....wanted to see the Covington Costco and Grant is going to get dinner tonight which will cost $300, so I am texting him, things like Salmon? Asparagus?"  We are not out of the woods yet!  So, Covington Costco....you are special and you are right next door to Fred Meyer.  God help me if I shop in Covington forever more.

Boys are off to find me crab cakes.....spoiled tonight and forever grateful.

It's my birthday!

Ang