October 1, 2009

• Woot!  Woot!  Woot!

  Wootness everywhere!

   It's OCTOBER!!!!!

           
  These leaves are from my table in the foyer.  They're fake - silk!  Our real leaves, in the yard, are still green . . . except for the neighbor next door.  Her tree is always the first to turn colors and, right now, it holds branches of fiery red leaves - just beautiful to see!!!!

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  I spent 4 or 5 hours yesterday morning (into the early afternoon) filling out a social security application online.  Not only do they want to know who I've worked for in the past 15 years, but what amount of pay I received!!!  Talk about a stretch of a feeble mind that is already damaged by chemo!!!!!  Suffice it to say, at the end of the LONG period hunched over my desk, my upper back was aching!  Jesse came home (to take me to my appointment) and, not only was I not dressed, I hadn't even had a bath!  While I quickly bathed, he heated up a leftover chicken enchilada from last night's dinner!  Hooray for microwave ovens!!! . . . and husbands!!!!!

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  Yesterday, after my radiation treatment, I needed to go to the chemo room so they could hang a bag of saline.  My blood pressure was 83/55 and my temperature was 96.2° - low, like in the ER and hospital a few weeks ago.  The nurse took my blood pressure 4 times and it didn't change.  My nurse/friend, Pam, mentioned I really needed the fluids because that is what causes low vital sign numbers.  I'm drinking as much as I can at home and *thought* I was doing fine. 

  Last minute, Jesse reminded me I had to stay an hour for that saline IV and I grabbed my Bible before I walked out the door of our house.  I sat in one of their reclining chairs with my Bible to read, with one of their thermal blankets doubled up on top of me.  It's the first time that room has ever felt very, very cold to me. 

  I read the 2nd half of the book of Daniel.  I read slowly enough so as to really absorb what was written.

              
                I wished I had my cozy bed with Chirper and my Bible to snuggle down with!

  We were VERY late when we headed home and caught ALL of the worst of the 5:00pm traffic.  There was no "good way" to escape any of it.  The chemo room was late when they hooked up my IV and the IV takes an hour to empty; so, there was nothing we could have done about the lateness.  We were most worried about arriving home at 5:50pm because someone from church had said they were bringing dinner by at 5:30pm.  I mean, the *least* we could do is be there to receive it!!!!  It ended up, they were running a little late, too, and they came shortly after we arrived home.

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  Today the girls see their therapist and I have another radiation treatment.  Annamarie won't see the therapist.  She has a medical appointment on the other side of the building for her cold/congestion/cough.  They said I should warn her they will put a mask on her when she arrives and they will take her back to wait on a bench in the hallway.  They don't want her out in reception area, and I don't blame them.  They will, most likely, test for the H1N1 flu.  I found a Vicks plug in last night and stuck it in an outlet close to her head.  I also grabbed the jar of Vicks for her chest.  She woke up feeling better in her nose and said her chest wasn't quite so heavy.  Hooray for old-fashioned things like Vicks and Vaseline!!!!!  My visit for radiation will be the quick and short one, today.  Tomorrow I will have to have another bag of saline given to me and then we'll see how I make it through the weekend.

  =========================

  Jesse is really pleased with our new clock purchase.  I was afraid it was marked so cheaply because something was wrong with it.  But, it is working just fine and I'm pleased to have a one of a kind from Garden Ridge's shelves!

    
  The second picture is washed out, but at least you can see how the clock is in proportion to the other things on the shelf.  I don't know what I'll do with the smaller, old anniversary clock that was there. I had it for many years.  It was a gift from someone I prefer to forget.  That clock always reminded me of that person and that's why I wanted to change it ASAP!  It pleases me that Jesse likes the new one so much!

                                        
                                       Here it is, close up, so the metal scroll work can be seen.

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  We didn't have school yesterday.  It was a day of reading books to me (to prove they had studied their new words) and a Pretest in spelling, which I never got around to doing with the girls.  Pretests on Wednesday tell me which words they need to study the most before their Friday "real test" is given!  I guess I'll listen to their book reading and give the spell tests this morning and then get on with the lessons in math and language.  We still haven't started history, geography, or science; but, we started those books for this year at the end of the last school year, and we are ahead more than we need to be at this time . . . so, I'm not sweating it.  This weekend, I'm going to let them decorate the clear pockets that cover the front of their binders.  They'll have to make up a fall theme or something that has to do with October (without Halloween stuff - we don't do that).

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  I had something weird (scary) happen to me yesterday.  I was in the car on my way to my appointment and looked down and suddenly noticed that my wedding ring wasn't on my finger!!!  Since I've lost those 20 pounds, it's been VERY loose.  I couldn't truthfully say I remembered it being on my finger yesterday morning, while I was working at my desk.  I knew it had to be at home, when I lost it, since I never go anywhere except for my treatments.  I came home and checked the trash, the laundry baskets, my huge purse . . . anywhere I could think of where I might have grabbed something and my ring slid off. 

  Luci was the one who found it.  It was on the bathroom counter top by my chart of medications I keep and write down.  I guess I slipped the ink pen off the chart and my ring slid off at the same time and fell on a doily my grandmother made, which I keep under a pewter dish on my sink's counter top.  I even had looked down the tub's drain hole!!!!  It's nothing expensive - a 4-6mm heavy gold band, but I love its simplicity.  I quit wearing the fancy diamonds years ago and really like this simple style.  I was VERY GLAD Luci found it!

  Like I said, the other day, leave it to me to loose 20 pounds and the weight loss show up in my finger size!!!  My hips would have been a better place!!!!

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  I should move on and make hot Cream of Wheat or Malt O Meal for my hungry crew.  We are missing the storms (they are east of us) today and, later this afternoon, the warm temps will be hit by a wind shift making things cool off.  It's extremely muggy outside this morning!

                       

  Be Blessed  ~

  • 9:53 am
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