Chemo is tomorrow....but let's focus on this....

http://kent.komonews.com/news/parents-kids/775007-little-heroes-epic-t-ball-showdown  That is my Nolan!  Happy Monday, Ang

And then there was a great day....

Okay, so I haven't posted in a while.....that is because I have been at my own pity party since last chemo day, but today I have a lot to say, so get a drink (defn is your choice) and sit back if you dare.  :)   I walked into my appointment last week and Hank told me that he has seen enough improvement on my teeny tiny spots in my lungs that he wants to give the same protocol four more treatments to see if it improves.  "Avastin has a way of starting up slowly, so we need to give it some more time....wha wha wha wha, wha wha wha wha."  I just sat there with the silent tears flowing.  I knew logically he was going to say that, but I didn't want to hear it.  Another entire summer juggling chemo.  Really?  Could I have a summer off?  Oh wait, I got one.  The one right after two lung surgeries and four chest tubes.  Only took a year to recover fully and, to this day, when I scratch my left side, I feel it on my right, but who is complaining?!  Hank pops up and gets me a washcloth because the Kleenex is out - shocker.  I sit.  He sits.  I finally say, "I know I should be grateful for everything...for everyday....I know I should not be sad......  He stops me and says, "This is hard.  Who says you can't be sad?"  I reply with, "Hank, I am the Mom to two little boys.  I am a role model.  How I handle this is how they will view the world."  He replies with, "You don't have to be a role model here.  Let yourself be sad."  "But I should be so happy that I am seeing Nolan's first day of school soon and I didn't know if I would see his first birthday."  Hank replies, "You are going to see way more than that.  You are healthy and strong.  You are going to see a lot more years, but this is hard."  So I cried.  And he told me things that made me feel better, allowed me to be sad, and got me to a place I could exhale and start my so familiar journey to chemo....again.  Chemo went well and I came home in my familiar way, but I couldn't stop being sad.  Karissa came over for movies, Sherry ate lunch with me, Karissa brought me soup, Mom made me breakfast.  I had no reason to be so pitiful, but I was.  Saturday was good.  Sunday was a struggle.  Monday was good.  I went and saw my Grandmother in the nursing home with her friend Peggy, who is a bright light in my relationship with my Grandma.  I was nervous about the boys, but they were amazingly good.  Peggy's sister, Kathy, was with us and she was amazing with the boys.  For those of you that know my relationship with my Grandma, you know how she is.  For those of you that don't. here is a great example....I am at the nursing home and my Dad and Grant are moving her out of her assisted living apartment.  I am taking clothes, items that I know she would want - crossword dictionary, crossword book, Bible with the zipper, blouse with the blue and green stripes, etc. etc. etc, over to her new and tiny space.  I ask her at the end of the day, "Okay, I think those are the important things.  Anything else?"  She shakes her head no.  "Okay then, how are you?  This has to be a big transition."  She replies with the back of her hand to her forehead, "Well, you know, this is my last stop....nothing past here.  Your Dad is mad at me because he said I didn't exercise enough."  HUGE ENORMOUS, I MEAN ENORMOUS, SIGH.  "Don't worry about Dad." I reply.  "He is what he is.  I want to know about how you are doing."  And because she is of the generation she was with the upbringing she had she replies with, "I am fine.  You are getting fat."  SIDE NOTE:  I have also been the lucky recipient of comments from her like, "Well, your cancer can't be that bad.  You didn't lose your hair." Yep, that was her - never revealed her identity until now.  "Don't let your kids hear anything bad come from your mouth.  Always encourage them.  Are are getting fat?  I don't like your hair that way.  It is ugly."  (YES, ALL COMMENTS WERE IN THE SAME MOMENT.)  I could go on, but why?  I try and remember this is the woman that taught me to sew, cook, can every food under the sun, and do creative things with no trip to the store and no money which I has served me well.  She is also the one that saved me from a 30 day stint of Mac and Cheese in college and always sent cookies to me in college.  She is stubborn and opinionated.  Giving and yet pushes you away at the hint of something becoming "touchy feely (sp)".  Anyway, enough of that....back to title of my post.  So, after all of this, I go with the boys, to Nolan's best friend's (Carter's) family cabin.  We played on the boat, inter-tubed, kayaked, paddle boated, row boated, the kids swim, played, rode bikes - the whole enchilada!  We had lunch AND dinner there and, as the last light of sun left the sky, I pull out with the bikes, dirty clothes, and two exhausted, sun kissed (and a little burned) little boys.  I call Grant and tell him I am on the way.  With perfect precision, we get them a quick shower, slather them with Aloe Vera Gel, and get them to bed.  I laughed all day. Carter's Mom, Cheryl, and I are hilarious together.  At one point, Carter, swam out too far and ignored his Mom telling him to come in.  Carter didn't realize that that is a violation my "Mommy Code" in a BIG HUGE WAY.  1.  Not listening to your Mom.  2.  Talking back to her making it look like a "negotiation".  3.  Dude, this is about safety and your life!  SERIOUSLY!  Those of you that have seen Mommy Code violations know I go a little psycho.  Our"conversation" at that point went something like this.  "CARTER, GET BACK IN NOW.  THIS IS NOT SAFE AND YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO YOU MOTHER."  He pauses and replies, "You are not my Mom."  I want to say a lot of things, but I choose, "You are right.  I am not, but you are not listening to your Mom and my voice carries a lot better than hers.  In any case, COME IN FIVE FEET NOW OR I WILL COME AND GET YOU!"  He pauses again and says, "I don't know what five feet is."  "START SWIMMING BACK AND I WILL TELL YOU."  He did.  I thanked him.  Later, I let Nolan and him squirt me with water guns and even later Carter went swimming.  It was just him and I out there.  I said, "Carter, you are getting out too far."  He immediately came back and asked, "Is this okay?"  "Yes, Carter, that is perfect.  Thank you."  Another successful convert to "Mommy Code".  As I calapsed on the bed after my shower, I was talking to Grant.  He said, "Sounds like you had a great day."  "It was the best."  And so I am renewed.  I tank is getting full again.   This is a rough way to live, but for those days, I will do it - stubborn just like my Grandma.  Happy Wednesday, Ang

No change...

No change.  Nothing in my lungs is bigger, but nothing is smaller.  Hank is not worried, but he wants to think about all this and see if we change protocol.  He even said to me, "I need to look at the scan and see if I agree with it."  I was like, "You get to do that?" "Of course, I do!". Clearly, I really do not get how this works!  Chemo is still on for Tuesday - here is to nothin'!  I guess if i am still walkin', it is workin'.  Off to a pool party with my kids!  Love Ang

What do you want to be when you grow up?

So, I was asking Mason the other day, what do you want to be when you grow up?  He looked at me and said, "What do you think?"  I was cautious because I don't want to put ideas in his head, but I said, "Well, I think you are really good with math, so maybe a math teacher?"  He shook his head.  Then I said, "Well, I think you would be really good and really enjoy designing cars.  Like where the engine goes, what color, etc."  (You can tell I am really "dummying" this down thinking he his 7.)  He looked at me crooked and squinted his eyes and said, "Nope, I am going to be a paleontologist." and off he skipped - yes, skipped - there is hope!  I was a little dazed and confused as I didn't know what the heck a  paleontologist was and the fact that he knew the word.  HOLY COW!  Not much has happened since last chemo, but I was funny last time in chemo......we agreed that I should get a second dose of dummy drug for a lot of good reasons, but it hit me hard, so I said things like, "Where is Mason?" and "I have been hiking for three days."  The nurses were not impressed and Elaine was like, "I am calling Grant!"  I was fine and realized that I don't need anymore dummy drugs for several reasons.....see above!  UPDATE:  Good thing - my platelets went WAY up this last time which is not normal and Hank said was magic (that was before the dummy drugs) which, of course, I rolled my eyes at.  I think it is the acupuncture, but that is just me.  Neutral thing - I had a scan yesterday which I still don't know results for.....and I don't really care......which is interesting.......odd......but I think okay.....or maybe not......I will figure it out.  I will let you know when I do!  Happy Thursday, Ang

Do not worry I didn't jump off a bridge...

Saturday came just like Mom said and everything that was wrong was right with the world. The silver lining to all this was I slept so much during my depressive state I have a great weekend and week. Actually, more like best ever....here is what we did. Jane left for Vancouver Sunday return TBD, Monday we went to visit Alana and had lunch while using Cutco knives-I love a good home party and I now love Cutco knives! Need a rep? I know a great one! Let me know! Tuesday we went to the King Tut exhibit. Karissa, the kids and I. It was really good to talk about dead people and all the vases their organs went in for 4 hours-kids "dig" that crap! Then, Wednesday, Mason, Nolan, and I went on a helicopter ride of Seattle. I got a screaming deal on the internet and the boys were great. They LOVED talking on the headset about the Space Needle, where the Mariners play, and train tracks. Todd, our pilot, was so great with them. Thank you Todd! Thursday they went to "school" and I tried to recover from the busy week. I did have two things to do - Staples for school supplies and one follow up Doctor's appt for my ingrown toenail surgery. Didn't tell you about that?!?! Yeah, I squeezed that one in on July 6th. Everyone told me it was going to hurt and I could not possibly drive myself home. My response, "They have taken both of my lungs out of my body, cut, stapled, and some thing else to them and put them back in. Not to mention two surgeries on my butt....". You know, that is a conversation closer. Imagine? At Staples, I worked my magic, and got $142.00 of school supplies for two kids for $37 bucks. I got the nice stuff to...Elmer's, nice binders, kid headphones, etc. I know I can be freaky sometimes, but when you are home as much as I am, you have time to plot and plan. I do the same with airline tickets. When we went to Kauai last, we paid something like $840 for all of us to go.....I know...and Toronto $346, again that is not each, it is all of us. Okay, back to the story.....so, usually on the days without kids I dress up a little and this day I was wear all light colors. Unfortunatly, the cart at Staples nailed me in the thumb and I started to bleed. I did not realize it until it was on my pants. Good look. I finish shopping, went to my doc appt and went through seven band aids on the way. Good news, my toes look great. "When are you back in chemo?" he asked. I reply, " I started back two weeks ago!". He looked at me and said, "Your toes look amazing....I cannot believe it with your immune system and all.". I smiled thinking, "Yeah, we'll that is the miracle of me!". Bad news, I was wasn't paying attention to my wound and I bleed all over my shirt, pants, and now legs......apparently I am not all that. He cleaned me up, gave me a new band aid and asked if I would be okay. I replyed, it is just a scratch -damn blood thinners! Off I went, straight home to change my clothes before picking up the kids looking like an axe murderer. Got kids, got home, and woke up on Friday to thunder and lightning. We were supposed to go camping, which we did on Saturday morning. It was a blessing because it gave Grant and I a chance to take a breath. Saturday was beautiful on Mt Rainier. We hiked to Carter Falls in honor of Nolan's best friend. The boys rode their bikes, played card games in the tent and did not ask for their iPods once. Hiked Sunday a little, got home, went to accupucture and visited the neighbors. Yesterday, went on another adventure with Karissa and the kids (and Jane was back!) to the Nisqually Basin wildlife refuge where Nolan said they needed to cut down the plants so he could see. ;). Carter's family was up for dinner last night so, on my suggestion, they all came and we ate together. They crack me up! I laughed and laughed and laughed. Yes, I squeezed every moment I could from the last week and I went over a lot of bridges. Looked down on them all and walked confident OVER them. Back to chemo this morning. Jane is here, Mom is home, Karissa is back, Sherry is bringing lunch on Wednesday.....I will be fine. Thank you for all your love. Ang

This last week

I was back to chemo on the 9th.  IT SUCKED.  I got there and it took FOREVER to get my blood done, get into the doc and then start treatment.  I was there at 8:20 and I didn't start treatment until like 10:40.  I was almost done, Elaine had already held my hand, and it started....a panic attack.....I had been there just a little too long.  I started to shake uncontrollably.  I said I was cold, but Elaine said I was too hot and got a cloth for the back of my neck.  My nurse, who is AWESOME, came in, saw what was happening and point plank said, "Angie, are you have a reaction or is this a panic attack?"  I know and they know that I know the difference - "reaction" would have been the five bell alarm.  Shaking I respond with, "Panic attack.  I just need to get OUT OF HERE.  I spent too long here."  "Then, that's what we are going to do."  It seemed like a minute and I was out with Jen, my nurse, saying, "Where is she going?"  I was going the wrong way.  I guess I really wanted out.  Elaine corrected my path, I got into the elevator, faced the corner so I didn't have to see anything, got to the outside, and waited for Elaine to get the car.  I am pretty darn sure I looked like a drug addict/corpse.  SEXY.  After that, I was fine.  Elaine got me home on the couch and I feel asleep.  I don't remember much about that day, but I did eat dinner I think - Chinese??  I don't know.  Tuesday came and my Mom came over.  It was nice to see her, but I was depressed.  I had SUCH a good break - a taste of freedom and the previous Sunday, I thought I could conquer the world.  By Tuesday, I wanted to crawl in a hole.  Mom told me, "Just think about Saturday."  When it is Tuesday and I am suppose to focus on Saturday, it seems like an eternity.  Mom left and was leaving with my Dad to Las Vegas for their annual convention that I make them go to.  It is the only time the get on a plane, enjoy themselves, and get a vacation from me.  Dad was dropping the kids off at Donna's that day and then Doug and Donna were taking them to the cabin fishing and swimming for the rest of the week.  I would not see them until Saturday afternoon.  Wednesday, my Mom was gone with my Dad, Karissa was on vacation with her family, Donna was in Plain, WA with the boys, Grant was working long and then had hockey that night.  In addition, my friend, Sherry, called me and I tried to answer the phone, but the battery was dead, and it dropped the call.  I didn't have the energy to get another phone, so I just sat there and cried.  Shannan, my massage therapist, is Karissa's backup when I need to be unhooked from my pump.  She is 5'1" and a trooper.  When I opened the door for her to take me in, I just started blubbering all over her about how I hated being back in this crap.  She just hugged me and rubbed my back.  TROOPER!  I would have run for the hills.  She took me in and they were SO FAST we got free parking!  That is like winning the Lotto for me.  I got home, collapsed on the couch, and fell asleep again.  Thursday, Luke detailed my Focus, and locked up the house beautifully since I was sleep AGAIN.  Depression sucks.  Friday, I showered, did some errands and actually liked dinner.  Saturday, Donna was home, the boys were home, I felt great, JANE CAME THROUGH SEATTLE AND SPENT THE NIGHT, dinner was delivered, and all was right with the world again.  "Just think about Saturday."  I guess she knows best.  She is home today.  WHEW.  One more down.  Love, Ang

I went to Canada for a tan?

Yep - I am tan.  I know I still look white to most people, but if you compare my arm to my stomach, I could be Haitian.  We are home!  Well, I have been home since the forth. Two weeks with all my boys. Four cities and Toronto twice. The flight over was brutal! It was on frequent flier miles and changed from two legs to three at the last mintue - Seattle to Detroit, Detroit to Cinninatti, a 5 hour lay over and then to Toronto. BRUTAL! The boys were amazing and promptly fell asleep in the car, so Grandma Lil's first look at them in two years was asleep. Toronto was great. I have not been back in six years. It was great to see all of Grant's friends and family. Children have grown up into beautiful young adults, our friends are important people....and I am like, "How did that happen?!?" When did we grow up?!?!?! I even caught up with a woman that I met in Canyon Ranch three years ago. She is a hoot! After four short nights, we took off to Montreal, but let me go back to Toronto. We stayed at the Super 8 in Chinatown. Great location, sound proof rooms which I was glad for after the second set of teenagers partied across the hall, really bad free Internet, worn worn worn but had HUGE rooms, and free breakfast. They charged my credit card for $100 dollars for a damage deposit, and the second day I went to clarify it was for further damage beyond what was already there. I was really nice and quiet about it, but I needed to know. That is what I mean by worn. Not the nicest place. In Montreal, we had a two bedroom apartment with a kitchen. The boys loved it! We loved it! We practiced our French, ate really well, swam in the pool, and walked the city and museums. Everything was going great until I looked in a window and saw a Montreal Canadiens' hockey jersey and mentioned to Grant we should get one for Mason.  WOW.  APPARENTLY, THIS IS VERY VERY WRONG.  Grant, in a very un-Canadian manner, proceeded to throw a fit in the middle of the street.  As this doesn't happen often, the boys and I just looked at him with our mouths wide open.  He rarely raises his voice, but apparently this caused him to raise his voice and throw a tantrum in the street.  I was told, and I quote, "No son of mine will EVER own, wear, or buy anything from the Montreal Canadiens."  I asked why and he said it was because he was from Toronto.  Logical?  Reasonable?  He went on for blocks about why this is acceptable and reasonable behavior.  I turned him off and bought a Christmas ornament instead that said, "Montreal".  That was acceptable.  (Since coming home, I have heard a few other stories of Canadian husbands acting the same exact way when faced with the Montreal Canadiens.  They have offended family members and ruined holidays over this "issue".  WOW.)  ;)  In Quebec City, we had an even larger apartment and I cooked happily. The grocery stores are amazing in Quebec and CHEAP for amazing food. Food out was expensive, like lunch was $60 and we all drank water. So, we definitely took advantage of the kitchens. Quebec City was amazingly beautiful. I could not take a bad picture. The boys loved the wall, the military, the street performers, everything. I love the beer garden next to the pirate ship park. Why don't we have those?!?!? And I was able to buy a Quebec Nordiques Hockey T-shirt for Mason there.  I understand I can do this because the are no longer a competitor to the Toronto Maple Leafs.  (I just really wanted to not have a tantrum in the middle of Quebec City.)  Then off to Ottawa!  Being in Ottawa, the nation's capital, on Canada Day, was awesome. I love Ottawa. It is just so beautiful and well laid out.  The Snowbirds did their thing, we sang O Canada, and played all day.  They had two amazing kid focused parks - one non-military; one military.  The Canada Day celebration there is a lot like Seattle's Sea Fair, so a lot of celebration of their military.  One of the BEST stories was at the military focused park.  The park was across the river back into Quebec and I was so tired of my horrible French, when a very nice woman asked me the time, I just gave her my watch.  She laughed and said in French, "Do you speak English?  You seem to understand French."  I replied in English with, "Yes, I can understand some, but I can't speak it worth a damn!"  She laughed and said in English, "You have half the battle and it is the hard one."  Anyway, I digress.....we saw and sat in a Snowbirds cockpits which the boys LOVED.  We toured a Hovercraft which I loved.  But the high light....the favorite thing of both my boys was the obstacle course put on my the Army.  We waited in the sun for 45 mins.  It was 95 degrees.  There were not deterred.  They started warming up as we got close to the front.  Really?!?!?!!  It was 95 degrees.  They put there helmets on and stopped listening to me and just focused on the Army guys.  It is too bad because I was saying, "Listen guys - remember, this is Canada.  Your blue is showing a little."  To my joy, and maybe a little bit of embarrassment, they kicked everyone's ass.  I mean clearly, they wanted it more than ANYBODY ELSE there.  They caught up to the two before them and were TICKED when they were told to wait their turn.  I thought their might some throwing of elbows, but they got it under control and, in defense, of the kids in front of us, I don't think they had seen an athletic competition in their lives.  I kept my mouth shut with Mason, but when Nolan went I was like, "Go Baby!  OMG - you did the monkey bars all by yourself - AWESOME.  GO! GO! GO!"  The dude said to me that Nolan was quite serious and aggressive and all I could get out was, "He comes by it naturally....."  Grant and I learned a lot on this trip.  Like don't tell the boys there is a water slide at the next hotel BEFORE the six hour drive - tell them after and we really think that 14 days without a break from our kids is too much.  Next time, 10 nights.  I also learned that I can forget.  I was so removed from home, me, cancer, etc.  I actually forgot I was sick.  I actually thought about what job I was going to get when Nolan went to Kindergarten and I actually THOUGHT about it before I realized I would still be in chemo and who would ever take me on as an employee.  I pushed that out of my mind and kept dreaming about what I wanted and what I would have been doing if all "this" hadn't happened.  Then, we touched down in Seattle, and while I was so happy to be home......it was time to remember and as I pack up the boys today, a little part of me will die, but the other part no knows that someday will be able to forget......for good.  Vive le Canada!  Love, Ang

Chemo week - PSYCHE!

Today was SUPPOSED to be a chemo day, but a few weeks ago I looked like a teacher with Hank.  I held up a calendar and said, "Here are my chemo days and here is my family vacation.  Can I do chemo here?  Here?"  Help played along very well with, "...that is too soon with your platelets.  No that is too soon to your trip.  Where are you going?  Oh yeah...  Do you want to go or do you want me to cancel it?  (Of course, I want to go!)  Well, you need a break any way to get your platelets up, so you can be off until July 9th."  WHA?  Thinking the better of saying that.  "Okay!"  So, for the next little while, I will cook my own meals, clean my own house, and go back to Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa.  It is a bit of a whirlwind, but it will be great to see the in laws (haven't seen them since diagnosis) and friends.  Can't wait to go to Second Cup and Perogie Night in TO.  Want to see if Mason or Nolan will step out with me on the clear glass floor of the CN Tower and we are taking my Mother in Law, Lil, to Medevil Times.  Cute story - ...so when you book with Medevil Times you are asked to show up 90 mins ahead of time for general seating.  WHAT?!?!  So, I called and said laughing, "Is there any way around that?  My mother in law is 87 and I am a cancer patient.  We may not have 90 mins!"  So, with a couple fees and discounts to offset, we have reserved seating.  Can't wait to see the fireworks in Ottawa, eat bread and cheese in Quebec, and just be normal, if not for just a little while.  Love, Ang  P.S.  I will be putting out a new meal calendar so, if you want to get on the email, just contact Sarah at  sarah_09@comcast.net.  Thank you!  A Bientot!

Update and Best Burger EVER

Well, lots of time has gone by and I am doing well.  Update - the Relay for Life was so fun and my team, The Royal Runners, were amazing.  I was honored and happy to be with them.  We made $3500.  WOW.  Thank you - I am amazed by you.  Quick note - a breast cancer survivor came up to me on the survivor lap and said, "I love your shirt."  My reply was, "Yeah, well, rectal cancer doesn't have many options, so I went with this."  She and I laughed like HARD.  It was cute.  Then there was T-ball and tossball, my birthday which despite the hotel Grant and I were going to stay at had a main water break and is closed until August 1st and my favorite restaurant got kicked out of their lease, was awesome.  I found that I really just need ribs, ice cream cake, and flowers.  My head hit the pillow saying, "Best birthday ever."  Chemo day was good, chemo week sucked, and then back to t-ball and toss ball, dinner with friends in the neighborhood, and then yesterday.....so, yesterday Nolan crawled in bed with me and said, "I love you Mommy."  I said to Grant, "I will do chemo forever as long as I can hear that.  Part 2 - I got to see my college buddies who I asked to help Grant in the yard.  They, like the troupers they are, came and did amazing work!  We talked and laughed.  I sat and petting the cat and they weeded, spread bark, the yard looks amazing.  BTW - The cat isn't my cat, but won't go home (for the past two years) and lives in our shed.  I do feed her and pet her ever morning and night but really there has got to be a better gig for this cat than a shed.  She is a great mouser, rater, moler, so she totally earns her keep.  ANYHOO, I said to her on Friday night, "Look Daddy needs you to catch the thing that come out of that hole."  The next morning, a mole was on the porch.  I gave her tuna.  She is never going home now.  Part 3 - Jane, my famous Sister-in-Law, and the gang (Tyrus, her husband, Grant, our nephew, and Grant's girlfriend, Claire) came for  a short visit.  I miss Jane.  We talked for hours and the boys went to the store for burger fixings.  They played hockey, soccer, and wrestled with the boys for hours.  The burger tasted great and I even had a beer.  When they left, Mason, Nolan (still in his pjs) and I rode after them on our bikes out of the neighborhood.  It had been a beautiful day.  My boys, my Grant, my friends, my family.  Jane emailed me this morning and thanked us for the visit and said that Claire said, "It is like they have their own little paradise there." referring to the yard and my knives.  She likes good knives like a good woman should.  We do have a paradise here.  Grant and I have made it that way though I can hardly take credit for the yard.  He has planted all my favorites where I can see them when I am sick.  I so rarely leave the house that he believes it is essential that I have this.  (For example, other than T-ball - I haven't left home/neighborhood since Saturday before last.)  John, our neighbor, even has trained his clematis to go on my side of the fence, because Grant and I are having trouble growing one.  I am so lucky.  The boys don't ever really like leaving either.  When asked they usually want a home day, wearing pjs, playing outside with their buddies, and eating in their fort.  So, this morning I was thinking about lunch....all I wanted was a burger.....and I had just enough leftover in the frig to do it.  So, with my indoor grill pan, I cooked the patty and onion (good tip from Claire), toasted the bun like my Mom does, seasoned the patty like Craig (Sarah's husband) does, put on my avocado, lettuce, tomato, and open the last pilsner in the frig.  I went outside and, while Nolan was watching Curious George, ate my AMAZING burger with the juices going down my hands in my paradise yard in my pjs.  Pretty good day so far......love, Ang

Pre Relay for Life

Today, I go tot the Relay for Life at about 5:30 and meet up with the team I am representing, the Royal Runners.  I just now checked their page, done a couple calcs, and I realized that we raised over $2500 in three days......pause.....pause again......wonder how in the world I have these people.....feel humbled, gracious, blessed, and, of course, just a little, "Now, there is a can of whoop ass!"  Okay, maybe a lot of whoop ass.  I can't help it.  Soon, I will put on my "What's Up Your Butt?" t-shirt, all of my bracelets, and my pin from the Relay with Bob.  I have done my hair twice because of the humidity today.  My hair is a real draw at these events and I don't want to disappoint, but if this keeps up I am going to look like something between Michael Bolton and Carrot Top. Ceremony starts at 6 and I will be done with my duties at 7:30ish.  Probably go out to Teriyaki with a friend of mine that is meeting me there - by the way, Cheryl are you meeting me there????  At 5:25, I will most likely, be in my car cursing the humidity, then saying a prayer, then exhaling to get myself ready and then, I will open the door, and I will be EVERYTHING I need to be.  Thank you for your never ending support, prayers, friendship, and love.  Ang