Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag

Fancy title, eh? I wrote something about everyone's birthday in the month of April. There's one more today. Her name is Phoebe. She's our German Shepherd and she's 4 today.

We got Phoebe in November of 2005. We had just moved into our house the previous October. And 2 weeks later, we were broke into. At the time, we only had Peanut-our Dachshund. I've always liked big dogs and especially German Shepherds. So I searched Petfinder religiously for a month and finally found her. Except...it really wasn't her. The picture I found and the puppy I got were totally different. But I'm glad she's the one we got.

She's the epitome of a perfect dog. She's obedient (for the most part), lovable all the time, and will attack at the drop of a hat if she thinks we're in danger.

So here's to Phoebe. The best "German Shepherd" ever.

Another.

I had another anniversary the other day. Yet...procrastinated in writing about it until now. Some things never change.

On August 1st of last year, I had my first chemo. I'm not sure what to write about that I haven't already said. Hence the procrastination. All that can be written of now are feelings. One feeling from that day: I was terrified. Thank goodness for Ativan.

In my last post, I mentioned going out with my brother that night. Well...he flaked out because he was "sick". Whatever. ;) He did, however, make it up to me with an even better idea. A group of us went to Jamaica Gates. The group included Jilly, her husband Brad, and my other two "brothers", Todd and Oscar. We drank Red Stripe, ate jerk chicken nachos (and other
stuff...Oscar), and listened to great live reggae. We had a blast. And even got some ideas for costumes for Halloween.

Back in February, I wrote about starting yoga. I posted a picture of a lady doing yoga specifically to show a pose. And I got a lot of grief over it all because I said it wasn't my mom. So...

There. There's my mom on the beach in Jamaica. Happy now? Good. :)

Thanks for reading.

Flashback

The hardest week of my life started on July 21st of last year. I said in a post that this month is full of anniversaries. I don't feel the need to post about all of them (...or do I?), but I will sum up some. I do it because it's interesting to me how much time changes. For instance, last year, at this very moment, I was sitting in a doctor's office with a needle in my arm, like this:

But, TODAY, at this very moment, I'm drinking coffee, writing and getting ready to spend the day with Jill. We've been in workout mode. Today is walking, swimming, and yoga. And tonight, I'm going out with my brother, Bryan. We're going to paint the town...green. Because we can. No really. We're going to Home Depot first for the paint...

Must go now...thanks for reading!

Lots of change and a show.

A year ago today, I was officially diagnosed with cancer.

My life changed forever on that day. I remember the feeling I had when I was told it was cancer.

Two days before, my doctor had called with the results of my surgery. He had said that my lump showed features of Hodgkins lymphoma. I would probably have to do some "chemical treatments" (chemo) and maybe some radiation. I took it well on the phone with him...and then I hung up. I went straight back to the bedroom to tell Matt and I couldn't even get the words out. I finally did and him, being forever calm, said, "Okay...what do we do next, then." He had to call my mom and tell her. I couldn't.

I got my official diagnosis when I saw my surgeon to have my bandages removed. By then, I'd had some time to let it soak in. I remember he had an intern with him that day. When he confirmed that it was, indeed, cancer, the poor intern looked more shocked than I was. He told me a little more about the cancer and treatment and that I'd have to come back to him and get the port put in. He even took one out of a drawer to show me.

I've changed since that day...and I've been through hell since that day. My changes have been emotional and physical. I'm stronger now. I know how short life is and I'm sad that it took this for me to know. I have more scars and tattoos (...from radiation and celebration). I've had less hair, more weight, less weight, dark circles under my eyes, pale skin. And I've emerged to someone completely different than a year ago. But better.

So today I'll celebrate. I'll celebrate being diagnosed...and being alive a year later. Matt and I are celebrating by going to see Rancid and drinking these:

instead of these:

like I was doing last year.

And as my best friend, Jill, writes, "Happy 1 year today...a day to look back and see all that you've accomplished and all the ass you've kicked :D". Well put.

Thanks for reading.

Post Script

Something I should've mentioned on my last post was an anniversary. On the 3rd of last July, I had my cancer lump removed. The 2 weeks of waiting for the results following would prove to be hell, but nothing compared to what was in store. Instead of rehashing the details, you can read them here. There will be several of these posts to follow. I'm a sucker for anniversaries...and July is full of them for me.

Did I leave my flip-flops over there? Literally.

Well...we're back from Jamaica. Boo to that. I think so far, this has been the best of the 3 trips. I wasn't ready to come home. We left on the 24th and came home on the 1st. We met several people at the resort that were fortunate enough to get to stay an extra night due to problems. No flight crew, cracked windshield, overbooking. We weren't one of the lucky ones. Everything there was fantastic! The people, the food, the drinks, the music. There were even "stray" hermit crabs! You could see them all over the sidewalks. We even had one in the room.

I would love to say that we spent a lot of time at the beach, but truth is...there's no bar at the beach! So 90% of our time was spent in the pool (with the bar). :)

New friends-D'Sean and Dario

We met some really nice people here...guests and staff. Our agenda (on most days) went like this: eat, drink, swim, eat, drink, swim, shower, eat, change locations to pub to drink. All in moderation, of course.

Wednesday night until Saturday we did nothing!!! It was incredible! We woke up, ate breakfast (which was delicious), had coffee (also super delicious), then headed to the pool.At night, we had dinner and watched their nightly show, which usually consisted of music and dancing. After that, we headed up to the pub for more entertainment...be it talking with new friends, karoke, or a piano/guitar sing-a-long with new friend, Robert. Next time we go, however, I'll change my state of residence to somewhere other than Texas. Telling that to someone with a mic is a big mistake. Lots happened in that pub...I was told I was (insert British accent) "absolutely gorgeous" by a "disgracefully drunk" Englishman...who then went on to moon me. Nice.

On Sunday, we hiked up Dunn's River Falls. It's in Ocho Rios, which is about 1 1/2 hours from Montego Bay. We took a bus over there. Wow. It's amazing we didn't die just from the ride over there. We almost hit a goat, got pulled over by the police, and were passing someone as someone was passing us! The water was cool and very refreshing. It took most of the day. We came back, ate and ended up in the pool...again.

On Monday, we went ziplining over and through the rainforests of Montego Bay. I posted a link to it in my last blog. It starts with another bus ride up the mountain. Once there, we're strapped in harnesses and fitted with helmets. From there, we ride higher up the mountain in a safari-type jeep. All I can say is good thing we had the helmets! There were 7 "ziplines" or traverses, as they're technically called, and 2 repels. Off of platforms. Suspended over 50 ft. in the air. So much fun! The funniest was Shelley, who almost flat out refused to jump off the platform. And then when she did, she was crying! Sorry Shell! Once done, you're taken back down the mountain by jeep. Except we got a flat. We walked half the way down and were then picked up by the other driver...who came up the mountain...in reverse.

Shelley

Mom

Karola

Me

Best tour guides: David and Dane

On Tuesday, we stayed around the resort and took pictures and continued with our regular routine of going to the pool. Oh...and we were given some ganja, of course. Some guy slipped it in Shelley's pocket at the buffet. We weren't going to smoke it so we passed it off to some friends we met in the pool...who also happened to be a NY city cop. Ha! Oh the irony! All in all, it was tons of fun! We're planning another trip there in November. We'll see how it pans out. For now, I'll end with some of the highlights:

1. Kabooms
2. Pool soap operas
3. Being mooned, not once, but twice!
4. Delicious
5. Literally, sorry, definitely, and, of course, flip-flops
6. Jamaican delights :)
7. Yee-haw!
8. Learning the dating rules
9. Pick up lines
10. Pub nights

Thanks for reading! Go Cowboys! ;)

I break stuff...

...including promises. I'm way behind on posting pics of Mel and the baby, like I said I would. So here are a couple:

Mel and Jacob

Proud Parents

Family shot

Uncle Matt

Beautiful Baby

I have a TON of pictures of the baby. I'll try to post a few in the next couple of weeks. Yes...I'm giving myself some time. :) They've all been home for a couple of weeks now and everyone is doing fine. Happy and healthy! As Jill said yesterday, "Is it possible he's gotten cuter?" The answer: YES! He's adorable!

Tomorrow we're leaving for our annual Mother/Daughter Trip. Leaving on a jet plane to Jamaica! Shelley and Karola came down on Friday to spend some time with us, er...the baby, before the trip. Shelley and I've had so much fun! Well, not according to her, but... We went to the movies and out drinking on Saturday, Six Flags on Sunday, and walking/workout yesterday. I don't know what the two of us were thinking going to Six Flags. I had 2 free tickets so we were only going to go for a couple of hours. Ended up staying the whole day. We rode almost every ride and the park wasn't too crowded. It was insanely hot, though.

We'll be in Jamaica until next Wednesday. Spending a little quality time with the beach. We're planning on zip-lining through the forest. Go here to watch a video on it: http://www.chukkacaribbean.com/MontegoBay/canopy.php I'll be posting blogs throughout the trip (hopefully) with pictures. We can't wait!

As for my port, it's finally healing! The bruising is almost gone. There is some scar tissue under the scar, but I'm proud of that. Feels like a little mini port. :) I went to see my surgeon (who's awesome!), but was a little disturbed by the clock in the exam room:

Okay...better go. Still have to pack.

Thanks for reading!