Happy New Year's Eve 2010

Where will you be at midnight tonight? Every year it seems, I manage to stay awake until 11:30 pm. I try hard to stay up until the hour, but usually fall asleep.  I'll  report back tomorrow and let you know if I made it or not.

Be Safe

Have Fun

See you next year!

Ode To Driving Again

It's been three weeks
Since I gripped my car's wheel
Cleared for driving for I am
All very surreal
The roads are icy, I'm nervous I'll wreck
Fear of another surgery, gives my mind heck
Fastening my seatbelt, I turn the car on
Cruising down my driveway, no longer afraid
I wonder: Freeway or Backroads?
Which could be worse? I choose the freeway
and head out like a hearse
Traffic is sporadic
It's the middle of the day
But idiots abound, my mouth goes astray
I'm back in the saddle, proudly independent
It's been three weeks
No longer dependent!

Retail Therapy

There's nothing like a little retail therapy and lunch with a wonderful friend to make for an outstanding day.

A dear friend, who lives over an hour away from me, came by to take me to lunch today. (I'm being good and still not driving until the prescribed 3 weeks).  We've known each other since high school, so there's nothing we don't know about each other. It's awesome! We can talk about anything.

We began our visit at Red Robin Restaurant, (love their Ensenada Chicken platter) then talk of my new favorite store came up. We headed out to Buckle of course. My friend had lost some weight and needed a new pair of jeans.

Buckle is THE place to buy jeans that make your butt look hot, even if you're middle aged. She found a pair that fit her perfectly. I suggested she ask the sales gal to 'dress her' because that's what they do. It's like Nordstrom only better. She also found a fabulous top and necklace and walked out of there feeling like a million bucks. I loved the smile on her face. I had some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket and found a few items for myself. 

We topped off our visit to Starbucks. Give me a  Grande, Breve, No water, 200 degree Chai Latte,  and I'll follow you anywhere.

Christmas Cleaning Day

When is your official Christmas cleaning day? You know, the day where you; throw out the cards without pictures, pull down the stockings and throw 'em in a sack, quickly remove ornaments from the tree so your husband and kids will feel guilty and spend the next three hours carefully wrapping each one, throwing the leftovers in the freezer, putting away decorative table clothes, wreaths, trying to figure out whose gifts you threw in a heap in the back bedroom, put away the gift wrapping paper, ribbons, and bow. Finally, don't forget taking down THE LIGHTS. (Not my job!)

My cleaning day begins the next business day after Christmas. The one where the kids disappear in order to avoid housework. I'm the one who puts away most of the decorations, so I figure I'm entitled to put them away when it's most convenient for me. My husband starts to whine if I try to take it all down the next day. This year I was too tired. I began the task by taking a few things down at a time, a good way to gently ease the family back into the swing of things. For some reason, when the living room is decorated, it becomes a no cleaning zone. How did I let this happen?

Is this your house after Christmas?

I did some scouring on the internet to see when others traditionally 'take down' the decorations. Here are a few of the answers I found:

1. If you chose a live tree, then it's best to take it down when the needles drop. By this time, it's a fire hazard. Amen!

2. Some said they put their tree up at Thanksgiving  and take it down the day after Christmas.  Um. No. This is far too early. 

3. Another tradition is to wait until Epiphany. This is the first week of January, I believe it's the 6th. It's the day the Wise men met the newborn King and gave him his gifts. Part of the tradition of leaving up decorations is that if you take down the tree with it's lights, then the Wise men cannot find their way to see the babe.  That all sounds grand, but I don't think my nerves would survive the no cleaning zone that long.


When do you take down your Christmas decorations? I really want to know.

Christmas leftovers, etc.

One of the best parts of Christmas are all of the leftovers. We prepare prime rib at Christmas. The next day it's prime rib sandwiches. It doesn't get any better than that, does it? Then, there's the 10 different kinds of cookies and 5 varieties of pies. I swear this year that I'm going to freeze the hip expanders, as soon as I go eat a few.

The gang is out snow skiing today. The wind is howling and the rain won't seem to let up for more than a few minutes at my house. I'm looking forward to summer weather already. They sent me a text from the mountain saying there is 75 mile an hour winds on part on the ski areas. My daughter assures me in another next text that those areas are closed before I ask her, "Is your father insane taking you there?"

Next week I will be celebrating my ability to drive again! Does this mean my husband will stop grocery shopping for me? I suppose. Dang.

Merry Christmas!

Despite having a major surgery 15 days before Christmas, I have had the best Christmas ever! Why? It's because I was forced to slow way, way down.

Every year, it's a huge panic; shop for gifts, plan the dinner, get the cards out, worry about whether people will enjoy their gifts, and dread the visit from the crazy relative.

This year was different. I savored every moment. I treasured all of the friends and family. I told everyone I loved them, lots. I didn't worry if everything wasn't perfect.  I feel like I have a second chance to become a better person. I don't want to blow it this time!

Merry Christmas!

Pot Belly

I just love how in your 40s you can exercise until your blue in the face and never seem to loose weight. Before my surgery, I was either walking a half-hour or riding an elliptical four times a week. I'd usually get in about 50 sit-ups two or three times a week as well. In 13 days, I've managed to gain back my little 'pot belly' I worked a year to get rid of (sigh).

I've been sleeping more too, which means I'm much more sluggish in the mornings. This morning I forced myself to get up 2 hours earlier than I had been. I fixed breakfast for the first time in a few weeks too. That felt good. I'm slowly regaining my energy. I was doing some light cleaning yesterday. By the afternoon of puttering around, I was exhausted. Now I'm off to shower and make an honest attempt at finishing Christmas cards.

Drain Free

It's official. I'm drain free. Not that this is any kind of earth shaking news, but when you have tubes attached to your body that require maintenance, take up a lot of space and make you look like you weigh 30 more pounds than normal, it begins to wear you thin. I truly am looking forward to a shower.. unencumbered.

My son Daniel drove me across town to my appointment to have the drains removed. I am not suppose to drive until next week. I probably could at this point, but my doctor would rather me not tear anything open while swerving to avoid a wreck. I hate to think of what an ER room would do to the careful reconstruction of my front section.

In a few weeks, I'll begin light physical therapy. I've already started doing some at home such as pendulum swings and table slides. I'm not supposed to lift my arms past my shoulders. I can't anyway because everything is so tight right now. It makes getting dressed very interesting. Some people have asked me if I have skin left or if I had to have grafting done.  No worries friends. They took the bad stuff out, put in some temporary gizmos so I still look female, saved some parts and stitched 'em back on. Cool eh? I'm still loving the fact that I'm cancer free and don't have to endure chemo or radiation.

10 Days Post-Op Surgery

Today is day 10 post-op, and I sort of feel normal again.  For those whose blood pressure recuperates quickly after a surgery, I imagine the recovery from a Mastectomy would be much less complicated. Mine was not.

Here's the Reader's Digest version of the last 10 days. Managing pain meds and blood pressure were the focus of my first seven days. Once I finally found something that didn't make me itch, twitch, or puke I was a much happier patient. My blood pressure remained low and made it difficult to get around without passing out. I started to feel normal again on Dec. 18.

Surprisingly, most of my discomfort now is the tightness in my chest and some slight swelling. I can raise my arms half way up. I am working on very light stretches and keeping myself vertical and moving.

Got a Will? How about a POA or HD?

Just a quick note that if you are having major surgery, it's a good idea to make sure your will, power-of-attorney, and health directive are all up to date. I feel better knowing that my family is aware of my exact wishes should a complication arise from my surgery.

Last Minute Details

I learned the other day that Nordstrom's caters to women with breast cancer. You call the lingerie department and schedule a time to be fitted. Today I tried on two different garments; a bra, and a camisole that has pockets for the drain tubes. Note: These tubes are worn after surgery to prevent accumulation of fluid/blood and to decrease swelling, which decreases pain. Yay!

The Tacoma Mall location has a large private room at the end of the dressing rooms where a specialist measures you for pre and post operative garments. I thought it would be a good idea to get a comfortable bra to wear after the surgical wrappings are removed. It was a fabulous experience, and the purchase was billed to my insurance. I only needed to call my surgeon and have their office fax a prescription for the garments to Nordstrom's lingerie department.

For woman who don't have reconstructive surgery, Nordstrom also has prosthetic bras, camisoles, and swimsuits available. Who knew? I'd like to give a shout out to Ashley who treated me with respect and made the whole experience a treat.

I was so happy that I bought myself a cute pair of pink flannel pajamas with hearts on them, because I'm worth it, and because my daughter Holly was mortified I might be sleeping in my flannel, button-up shirts and sweatpants all the time.

To-Do or NOT To-Do

I believe most women have long "to-do" lists. I sure do, and one of them is posting to my blog on a daily basis. This morning, thoughts of "Dear Lord, it has been three days since my last blog post" came to mind. The 'list' was calling me from my purse and trying to vie for my blog time. I declared out loud, "Thou shalt sit undone for thine moment while thy bloggest."

As I sit here wondering what is still on the 'list' left to do before my surgery, other than the obvious; wrap Christmas gifts, try to mail packages that need mailing, order Christmas picture cards, get stamps, clean house, pay bills, do thank you cards, throw in a load of laundry, prepare grocery list, grocery shop, do list of meals for Holly to prepare, take dog for a walk, take a shower, and eat breakfast, I am taking a moment to be thankful for the many things I won't have "To Do" while recovering from a major surgery. Here's my top 5 don't have "to dos."

1. No housework. Admit it. Wouldn't you love to just let it go and watch as your family struggles to find a pair of socks?

2. No grocery shopping. Grocery shopping is like driving during rush hour, so it might be worth eating pizza for a week while my family tries to figure out how to cook a meal from something other than Schwans.

3. No dressing up or bathing. Don't get me wrong, I like to be clean and look nice, but I'm embracing the fact the I'll be wearing 2-4 tubes hanging around my waist for a few weeks. That's not conducive to a relaxing shower. I've got my comfy sweatpants and long-sleeved, button-up flannel shirts all picked out.

4. No driving for a minimum of two weeks, preferably 3. Hum, I'm not sure whether this is a good thing. I won't be able to drive to Starbuck's for my Grande, Breve, no water, 200 degrees, Chai Latte to sip while writing the great American novel. Hint, hint.

5. No laundry. I'm not suppose to lift more than 10 lbs for many, many weeks. A full laundry basket, in my opinion, must weigh more than 10 lbs right?

6 Days Until Surgery

There's nothing like a major surgery shortly before Christmas to help you get motivated to finish Christmas preparations early. I have just about all of my immediate family finished. The malls are getting too crowded now, my cue that I need to let my computer do the rest of the shopping.

We got our tree today! This is THE earliest we've ever gotten one. My goal is to decorate it this evening and do a family picture in front of it tomorrow.

Now that my son Daniel is a junior in high school, I can't help but think that in a few short years, he may not be living at home during Christmas. He'll just be visiting from college. The empty nest thoughts are creeping in.

Finally, preparing the house for when I come home from the hospital (only an overnight stay thankfully) is an interesting task. I spoke to a friend who had the same surgery I'm having. She reminded me that I need some sports bras that zip or clip in the front and some button down shirts to wear. Thank goodness I still have five more days to make an attempt at being ready!