My Memory Ain't What It Used to Be....Or Is it?

Skitl had to take my truck up north yesterday to get his stuff out of storage up there and bring it down to put it in storage down here. He was sharing a shed with a friend who was moving, so rented a shed closer to home. He left early afternoon and got back early evening.

   

While up there, he stopped at the mall, and called me to tell me the tags on my truck were expired as of AUGUST of last year! I could have sworn I renewed that, but after calling, the office confirmed that it had not been renewed. This would have been right around the time LadyBug was recovering from her first surgery, so that at least explains how it happened. Plus, I haven't been driving the truck because the van gets better gas mileage.

   

So today I got an inspection, and will head to the DMV right after lunch. I don't know how much the registration is going to be, but it is just one more expense among many right now. I'm sure it will be more since we've been driving for several months with it expired.

   

At least everything else is looking a little better. LadyBug is just starting to feel this last round of chemo, but she still is doing better than on the last drug, and she only has two left, so we are almost to the end of chemo. Skitl has joined me on my diet, though I don't know how long he'll last. I think he was okay as long as his father weighed more than him, but having me weight less really made him think! 

   

He has never been one to like veggies. In fact, I think he'd rather get a root canal than eat most. As a kid, he would chew each piece of meat like it was gum! We would have to tell him to swallow it so he could eat some more. He would then chew that piece for a half-hour if we'd let him. He does okay with seafood and poultry, but he is a beef-eater through-and-through. If you could survive on steaks and burgers alone, I think he would be just fine with that!

  

It's a little strange, though, because StarGazer was always something of a vegetarian, because his tonsils were too big to swallow meat effectively. He is still thin, and healthy. He runs, he does Yoga, and he would rather have sushi than anything. Kissa, ZeldaPrincess and I agree with him on that one. LadyBug likes the Teriyaki Chicken with Yakisoba Noodles, but won't eat sushi. Actually she can't right now. The chemo would react badly with some of the bacterias in the fish, etc. Skitl likes sushi, but would rather eat at a steak-house, or Carl's Jr.

   

Wow....talking about food. Must be lunch time. I am a bit peckish, having ridden my bike for the first time today, so I think I'll go grab some whole-wheat spaghetti. Happy eating!

Upward Swing

LadyBug only has TWO MORE CHEMO TREATMENTS LEFT!!!

   

Her most recent treatment was this last Thursday. Skitl was home finally, so took her there. The doctor gave her iron in her IV, and she is almost over her infection, so she felt pretty good the last couple of days. The iron really did it for her! She can't take iron supplement pills, because they make her nauseous, but the intravenous iron worked wonders!

   

So now we only have a month left! Then just over a month of radiation before starting the final surgeries to finish reconstruction. 

   

On a personal note, I was down 51 lbs. this morning! All my newest clothes no longer fit me! If anyone needs a nice double-breasted tuxedo coat and shirt for a larger gentleman, I have one now that I can't wear! I also have to get rid of all my cargo pants! I hate that, but luckily, I have my skinnier clothes to fall back on.

   

I also have several pairs of size 40X32 jeans I can't wear anymore. I also kept my skinnier jeans, so I at least have clothes. If I lose much more, though, I will have to buy a whole new wardrobe! I sure hope either LadyBug goes back to work before that happens, or I sell my book. I don't think I can wear warm-up and sweat pants to school (or during the summer!).

   

Skitl has indicated that he may start my diet, too. I don't know if he has the willpower for it though, since I couldn't do it without a real reason (LadyBug). If his only reason is to lose weight, he may not have the will-power to make it. I hope he does. I don't want to outlive my son.

   

And I have to take my elliptical apart this week to find out where it is busted. I am rather proud of the fact that I actually wore out an exercise machine, though! I need to get my regular bike back from Kiss. If I can get in shape, perhaps I will ride through the summer. What do you think, Stick? You up for some back-road biking? You're a better biker than me, but even if I can't keep up I can eventually CATCH up! Maybe we could head to the M. Canyon and hit the bike trail there. It is about 7 miles long. I think it may be connected to a bike trail that goes almost to Inklings' town. Pretty trail. Plus there is one in R. C. out to the east of Mom and Dad's place. It looks very nice.

   

Of course, my bike is VERY heavy, too, so I will not be in good spirits going UP HILL, but I'm up for a challenge at least! One of my goals one of these years is to ride the distance from here to Mom and Dad's place. It will take ME several days. There are bikers who could do it in one day, still have time to shower, eat and take in a movie. I'm not one of those people! But it would be kinda cool to bike part way, camp, then finish the ride.

   

The rest of the summer, I will just enjoy time with LadyBug. We are SO ready for this to be over!

  

Well, take care all!

Downturn

LadyBug isn't doing very well with her current drug. We had hoped that she would be one of the MANY people for whom this drug is milder, but that has not been the case so far. This round has her in constant pain, sometimes keeping her awake or waking her up. She has had a fairly high fever, along with that, and has been plagued with nausea and fatigue. At first, she was doing better, except for the pain, but this week, we had to take her to the doctor because of a high fever.

   

He put her on an antibiotic, and nausea medicine, and they gave her IV saline. She also had a chest X-Ray, due to a cough. The X-Ray didn't really show much, so we don't think we have to worry about that, and the doctor said her fever and some of the nausea could be linked to the medicine they give her to boost white blood cells. her white blood cell count was up, which was to be expected. The doctor still decided to treat it as an infection just to be safe.

   

If she is not feeling better by this coming Thursday, Dr. Chemo will make her wait a week until her next treatment. I think she will be okay with that, even though it means prolonging the overall length of her treatment. But it would also mean that our daughter Kissa would be through with school for the year, so she could help get LadyBug to radiation treatments.

  

On a different tack, our oldest son, Skitl, called us tonight. He took a taxi to a bus, the bus to another town, then WALKED SEVEN MILES to the neighboring town to pick up his car finally. He will pack up his gear and leave for home tomorrow. He might stop, or he might drive most of it as quickly as possible, so we don't know whether to expect him Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. He plans to get an apartment with StarGazer and attend the same school next Fall. This is great for him, since it is the first major decision he has made for his future in awhile. 

   

And on a personal note, I wore a pair of jeans today that haven't fit me for two, three, or more years! I also wore a pair of cargo shorts that are in the same category. And this weekend, when I sing in a session of our church's local conference where we will be visited by someone from Church Headquarters, I will be wearing the suit I bought several years ago, that also hasn't fit me for quite some time. And luckily, I found some belts I had forgotten that are in good shape and now fit me again.

   

I haven't been feeling 100% the last week or so, but I am making do. I did have a few meals where I wasn't quite as careful as I have been, so I wonder of that's the source of my nausea. I still cannot afford the down time that would come from gall bladder surgery, so I will just keep exercising and eating right. Perhaps if I maintain that plan, I will put off the surgeon for as long as I need to.

   

In the mean time, we pray for LadyBug, and welcome the prayers of all those who join us. Take care!

Round Two

LadyBug started her second drug treatment this week. Dr. Chemo gave her an extra half week so she would be feeling good enough to go to ZeldaPrincess' Jr. Prom. And he is giving her a full 2 1/2 weeks until her next treatment to give her blood count time to get where it needs to be. So far, this drug does not make her quite as nauseous as the previous combination, but she has a lot of joint pain and bone pain. She said if it wasn't for the pain, this would be much easier than the first drug round. She is looking much better, though, so I will take whatever I can get!

   

On the diet front, I have now lost almost 45 lbs. My awesome summer shorts are now too big for me, my belts are getting too big for me, but some of my shirts fit better now. I am getting between 10 and 30 minutes of exercise every day but Sunday, and feeling pretty good. It would be great if it wasn't so much more expensive to eat a healthy diet. If I could get healthy and thin eating at McDonald's I could save a ton of money. It's just as well, though since I despise Micky-D's food! 

  

We are also into the fifth month of LadyBug not working. Sh went in a couple of days early on, but only stayed for two hours at a time. Her boss didn't know what to have her do for only two hours, but everyone will be thrilled when she can return. The lady doing her job right now is at the front of the welcoming line. The best thing about all of this is that we only have three of us home right now, so it doesn't cost as much to feed us. We bought a 40 lb. box of chicken breasts some time back, and even have a few left! We also have had a couple of turkeys that we were able to stretch for quite some time. Luckily, chicken and turkey (and the tilapia in the freezer) are on the list if things we can both eat!

   

Skitl, our oldest, called us last week to inform us that his car's engine had seized (he hadn't been checking oil like he should for the thousands of miles he was putting on it). He got a loan to pay for a used engine to be installed (I know, used isn't great, but it has fewer miles on it than his original engine...). He should be coming home sometime within the next week or two, so we'll see how the new engine runs. He plans to go north, get an apartment, and start school with StarGazer this fall.

   

Speaking of StarGazer, he is doing great. His new job starts any day now. He will be working tech support for a smart phone (I think). He is living in the first big city north of us and going to school. He takes a yoga class every semester that he loves, and has been going for sushi with his roommate, who is our newest convert to all things sushi. Soon, we will take over the world with our sushi ways!

   

I may as well finish with the rest of the clan. Kissa is loving college. She dances about 40 hours a week. She can't do a work schedule around that, but she gets by. She just made the main dance squad for next year, so is very excited. She is home right now for Spring Break, sleeping on the sofa, even though she still has a bed in her old room....

  

ZeldaPrincess loved her dress for the prom. Her long-distance boyfriend (now State Debate Champ) drove the two hours or so to get here, since he had a game in a neighboring town, spent the night in that town, then drove home the day after prom. Z.P.'s dress was very pretty. This was our second purple prom dress. 

   

It's hard to believe she will be a senior next year. She was also just voted team captain for our varsity girl's soccer team. She will have to attend camp this summer to keep the position, but she is perfectly okay with that. She will have to skip out on their Summer Games tournament, since she will have to work to pay her expense with camp, car, etc., but I think putting in a little extra time makes you appreciate what you have even more.

   

So wow. That was quite the load of information. We continue keeping our heads up and our eyes open through all of this. We love seeing the Lord's hand in things, and have been overcome by the generosity of the people in our town. We know we are not above the trials others have to face, and seeing some of those are truly humbling to us. For those of you in the boat with us, or in worse circumstances, know we pray for you. For those who generously pray for us, thank you, we pray for you, too. Take care, all.