As of this spring, my wardrobe was a sorry state of affairs.  For the past six years, I have not had an outside-the-house job.  My needs have been minimal.  I’m practical and frugal, so it didn’t make sense to me to spend lots of money on short-term clothes.  Over those years, I have gained and lost weight.  I’ve had four pregnancies; (yes, I had...

I’ve mentioned here before that my mom is Australian.  Her whole side of the family lives Down Under.  My grandmother, four sets of aunts and uncles, and eight cousins live there.  Brad and I got married in 2003, but our wedding “season” wasn’t over for another eighteen months, because that was when we went to Australia together so that he...

I am very much in the rhythm of my new cancer normal, and a big part of my routine is chemo. Maren and Greta go to Phenom’s house.  I think they think it is summer camp.  They love it. I’ve had to take a running hiatus for the last two week: I have an infection in my toe that is exacerbated when I run.  Darn toe.  After two courses of antibiotics, I...

I am happy. I did have a lovely day with my girls yesterday.  They were exceptionally cheerful and there was hardly any whining!  (I assure you this is monumental.)  Maren asked for a list of jobs to earn a reward, and she did the (longish) list of (age-appropriate, yet complex) tasks while prancing and smiling around the house.  I found myself watching her,...

Yesterday Brad and I met with Dr. Awesome to discuss my upcoming surgery.  She was pleased with the shrinking tumor(s), and gave me a B+ in cancer-killing.  A B+ is good, but I’ve always been a straight-A kinda girl.  I am happy that I have eight more weeks to continue chemo and Herceptin (the non-chemo biological drug).  I have that time to get to an A.  I...

Today was Chemo Tuesday.  I know. It’s so weird.  But tomorrow is the Fourth of July and doctors and nurses like to have holidays with their families too.  So now I am eleven down, five to go.  Wow!  Since all the “Wednesday people” had to mess with their schedule this week, the chemo room was extra busy.  And there were lots of patients I’d...