Finally A New Post!! Easter, A Wedding, & Other Random Updates!

To all of my beloved blog readers, I am sooooooo sorry that I haven't updated since early April. Shame on me!! I've gotten so busy with life and my fitness plan that I've completely neglected the blog and there's just no excuse for that!

I'm doing GREAT! I have not had any more doctors appointments lately so no news there. No news is good news at this point. I do meet with my oncologist on June 8th for my very first follow-up appointment. That's when I'll meet with Dr. Voelzke and find out when/how often he'll be sending me for periodic PET or CT Scans to be sure I'm still cancer free. I'll update the blog as I know more about upcoming scans and things of that nature.

I had my port-o-cath removal surgery on April 10, and that went smoothly. Now I have a fairly large-sized scar on my chest where it used to be, but I'm hoping with time it will fade so much that it's hardly noticeable. Right now, it's a deep purply color still and VERY noticeable. I'm just so glad that thing is out. It was kind of like closing the book on this cancer stuff to have that removed. That was my last ordeal; I hope so anyway!

My hair is growing a LOT. It's getting thick enough now that my scalp is almost completely covered. It kind of looks like a guy's crew-cut style now. I'll be so glad when I'm comfortable enough to go out without a wig or scarf on, though I think it'll be about 3 or 4 more MONTHS until I'd get that comfortable with it. Luckily, for now, I have an adorable, short blonde wig that is very comfortable and cooler for these warmer summer months. I'll have to get a picture of my hair growth and post it for y'all to see the changes. For now, enjoy the pictures below with me "gettin' wiggy with it!"

As I had said before, I've been pretty busy with my fitness plan. Or as I call it, my "plan to get fit and fab!" I have lost 22 pounds so far in about 2 1/2 months. I have been trying to exercise at least 30 minutes a day and have been keeping a food diary where I count calories. I've really stuck with it and am so proud of myself and so proud of the results so far. I FEEL so much better and not only do I feel better, but I feel like I look better, too. Nothing like losing some weight to boost your self-esteem!!!

I'm hoping I can make my absence on the blog up to you all if I share some pictures (ok, TONS of pictures) and stories from the past month or so to kind of play catch-up! So I'll leave you with some tidbits and tons of photos from our Easter celebration and from a recent wedding Lee and I went to for two friends of ours.

EASTER - April 12, 2009

Let's start with Easter! This year, after all that has happened to me health-wise, I felt a strong need to get my booty to church and tell God just how thankful I am for healing me and giving me a second shot at life with my beautiful husband and son. I will be the first to admit, I'm not an avid church-goer. It's not that I don't like church; I just don't go often. This is sad, and shameful of me, and something I'd like to improve on. Despite my lack of church visits, I am proud to say I'm a Christian. I don't believe going to church every Sunday is going to "make it or break it" for me with God. I know God and speak with Him on a regular basis. I believe he sent his son Jesus Christ to die for my sins (and yours too!) I have prayed and asked God to be a part of my life and save me from my sins. When all is said and done, I feel like, 100%, I am getting into heaven. I live my life like anyone else... I try to be a good person. I'm thoughtful of others and treat other people like I would treat myself. I know that being a good samaritan alone isn't getting me into heaven, and that's where my faith in God comes in. My faith tells me that even though I am a sinner, God loves me unconditionally and forgives me of my imperfections. He holds a special place for each of His children, and if we are willing (and I am!) to accept him as our Savior he embraces us with open arms.

Whew, sorry to go off on that tangent... but that's me and that's God, and that's how it is for me! Anyhoo, back to Easter...

Logan had never been to church before. Taking him this Easter Sunday was his very first time. I was so proud of him. He went to the church nursery and played with the other kids his age, and had so much fun. All the while managing to keep his Easter suit clean even while playing outside for a bit! Lee and I enjoyed the Easter sermon very much, and a few times I nearly cried because I just felt the power of God there and was just so filled with thanks for all He has done and continues to do for me. Overall, it was a beautiful Easter morning, and I'm so very glad that we went to church.

Here's some pictures of Logan in his Easter suit, and a photo of Lee, Logan, and me before going to church





After church, we had a really nice afternoon with the family. My Mom and John were in town visiting, and we had a little Easter Egg Hunt for Logan in our yard. He had so much fun running around finding the colored eggs. Each time he spotted one he'd head off running toward it yelling, "Egg!" It was really cute and he had so much fun. He cared more about the plastic eggs than the actual candy inside of them!

Here are some pictures of us outside with Logan looking for Easter eggs












That evening, rather than cook a big meal at home, we all went out for dinner to Golden Corral. The food was good, and we all had a nice time visiting together and pigging out!

Here's a ton of pictures of all of us after dinner (Me, Lee, Logan, Grandma & Grandpa, Mom, John, & even Abby the dog!)














Our Friends' Wedding - April 18, 2009

Lee was asked to be a groomsman in our friends' Jeff and Natalie's wedding in April. We had a good time, and they had such a lovely wedding. Lee was honored to be a part of it, and I had a great time taking pictures and visiting with friends.

Here are some photos from their wedding.










And here's some of my photos I edited to make them look a bit more "professional"!

Only 3 More Radiation Treatments To Go!!!!

I'm soooo close to being done with radiation. I go tomorrow (Friday) and then on Monday and Tuesday -- so 3 more treatments total and then I'll be done!!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!

Then on Wednesday I'm meeting with my general surgeon for a consult appointment to have my port-o-cath removed since I no longer need it for chemo or anything. I'll basically be meeting with him to schedule a date and time for the surgery at the local hospital. To me, getting the port removed is kind of like closing the book on this cancer stuff. Not that this port is bothering me or anything (in fact, it's been in since mid December now so I don't even feel or notice it much anymore) but I'll be so glad to know it's gone, too!

Logan got his haircut the other day... I had it cut a little bit shorter than the last time since his hair grows so fast. Here are a few pictures of my little, grown-up-looking man!!




It's been one month exactly since I started my "get fit" plan and I'm proud to say in 1 month I've lost a total of 8 pounds! I'd love to lose about 17 more so I can lose a total of at least 25 pounds... GO ME!!!!

Me, Hair Growth, Radiation, Exercise, & Updates on Logan

Apparently my hair is growing, even though to me it seems it's not doing much of anything. I just took a new growth progress picture at roughly 6.5 weeks since finishing chemo and I am starting to look less and less like a Q-tip and more like a girl with actual hair... it's still got a bit of a "fuzz" look to it, but I definitely see changes in length... yippee!

Here's a little collage shot I did starting with the picture we took the night I shaved my hair off near the beginning of chemo, next is 2 weeks after finishing chemo, then 4 weeks, then 5 weeks, and then 2 of the most recent at 6.5 weeks since chemo. (Click on the collage photo to see it larger.)

I only have 7 radiation treatments left... this next full week of Monday through Friday and then the following Monday and Tuesday... that's it, then I'm done as of April 7th! I sooo can't wait. I don't mind the radiation, but I do mind the 30 minute drive each way. I won't miss having to do that every day.

I'm still doing well with my diet and exercise plan... I got a great workout DVD called Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred and let me just say, it is really kicking my butt... in a good way! It's only a 20 minute routine, but it's a pretty intense 20 minutes jam-packed with strength training, cardio, and ab muscle work. The first day I did it, I could only make it through about half... then I did it on Friday and did the full 20 minutes, then today I did the whole thing again. My muscles hurt so I must have done something right! I also used my exercise bike in addition to the DVD so I feel like I did really good with my exercise this week. I've lost about 6.5 pounds so far and my goal is to lose about 19 more to put me at a healthier weight for my height. Right now my BMI is putting me in the overweight range and I'd really love for it to be back in the "normal" (a.k.a. healthy) range!!

That's it for news about me. I haven't updated about Logan in a while and I really should. My little guy is getting so smart! He says SO many words now and repeats EVERYTHING he hears. We are really having to watch the things we say around him now!! He amazes me each day with the things he knows. I completely see now why everyone always says kids his age are like a sponge. He picks up so many mannerisms and things without us even realizing it. For example, his latest thing is LOVING the Nintendo Wii bowling game. He's seen us play countless times and one day, out of the blue, he starts raising his arm and holding it like he's just released a bowling ball. It's so cute. The first time he did it I was like, "Logan, what are you doing?" and he said "bowl" and then I knew: my kid was bowling. Too cute!

To show Logan what bowling is really like, we took him to the bowling alley last weekend. He loved it and we snapped a few shots of him having a grand time with Mama and Daddy! The highlight of the night was right after Lee let Logan roll a ball down the lane, Logan took off after it down the slick, waxed floor! Lee chased after him and fell on his butt, but Logan never fell. It was the funniest thing I've seen in a while. This first picture shows Logan doing his signature, "pretend bowling" move with his raised arm:






He's growing like a weed, too. I kind of figured his 3T clothes I've been buying for him for spring and summer would be really big on him still, but I put him in a new outfit today and it fit nearly perfect. He's weighing in at a hefty 34 pounds. I'm not sure how tall he is as I haven't measured him in a while, but I know he's definitely getting taller! His hair also grows sooooooo quickly (I wish mine did!) He needs a haircut so badly... he had one a while ago now and his hair is completely grown out and getting in his eyes again... we're thinking of getting a bit shorter of a haircut on him this time around so we can go longer without having to have it cut. We'll probably take him tomorrow to get it trimmed. I'll post some pictures of him if we get his style changed up a bit.

I love watching Logan grow and learn new things. He brings me so much joy. Without him, life just wouldn't be the same and would not be nearly as exciting and noisy, ha ha! :)

Quick update on radioactive me!

12 down and only 9 more radiation treatments to go! It is grueling to have to go all the way down to Memorial Hospital EVERY weekday, but I'm more than halfway done with radiation. I know my grandma is getting tired of coming over to watch Logan every morning, too. I can't wait 'til it's over so we can all have a break!

In other news, my diet and exercise plan is going well. I'm feeling healthier and more in shape already. My "start date" for my diet plan was March 5th, and since then I have lost 6 pounds. I am still keeping my food diary and counting calories and fat grams and trying to get on my exercise bike every day for at least 15-30 minutes.

I have had a horrible cold this past week and even lost my voice this weekend, but my voice came back yesterday and I'm starting to feel like the cold is almost gone. I forgot how crappy colds can make you feel since I hadn't had one in a while.

I hope all my friends and family are doing well. Diane and Aunt Nellie, thank you so much for your constant prayers and kind words. I so appreciate the cards and emails from you both!!! Love you all!

Feeling great today!

I had my 3rd radiation treatment this morning... quick and painless, of course. After that, I went to Wal-Mart and bought a stationary exercise bike for days that the weather isn't great to go walking outside (too cold like today or too hot like it soon will be in the coming months) or for days I just feel like working out inside. I put it together all by myself which was a job in itself and took me quite a while... but after I was done it seemed to work great and not make any funky sounds so I think I tightened all the bolts well enough.

My new work-out buddy:

I did 30 minutes of it while watching "The View" this afternoon. I love it... it's great for exercising during Logan's naptime and catching up on my shows I've recorded. Heck, I can even get on it while Logan's up and about because he loves watching Mommy biking!! Yay for getting fit and healthy!!

1 Month Post-Chemo

It's been a month since I finished chemo. I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it feels to have energy again. I didn't realize just how drained I was until I felt good again. Each week over the last 4 weeks I felt myself getting stronger and stronger. I can finally say I feel pretty much like my old self again, energy-wise.

I took another picture of my hair growth, so this is 4 weeks (1 month) post-chemo as compared to the last photo which was 2 weeks post-chemo. It's not a ton of growth, but enough to notice:


I started radiation yesterday (Tuesday, March 10th) and will have a total of 21 treatments. They are quick and painless. The worst part is having to wear a very constricting mask that holds your head in the exact same position each time so you can't move your head. They do that so they can be sure they are only shooting the beams of radiation where they need to go and not anywhere else and that they shoot them in the same place each time I go. They have marks on the mask to help guide them with that.

Other than radiation, I'm trying to put all thoughts of cancer behind me and move on with my life. I'm trying to get healthier, too. Ever since I had Logan I've been a bit overweight and I'm tired of carrying excess baggage around and want to feel good about myself again. I started a diet and exercise plan on Thursday. My goal is to lose between 25 and 30 pounds. I'm keeping a food diary and writing down EVERYthing that I eat, calories, fat grams, carbs, and protein and also I have started walking down my street from my driveway to the end and back which turns out to be 1.2 miles each day. I've done this every day since Thursday. I'm really, really hoping to keep myself motivated and lose some weight and feel and look good again.

I do have some not so great news to report, though. Part of the thing that sparked me to have the neck biopsy done in the first place (which led to me finding out I had cancer) was the hives/rash I've been battling. Interesting enough, the hives almost completely disappeared from the chemotherapy. With each of my 4 chemo treatments the hives seemed to lessen and lessen. By the last one, I thought the hives were completely gone. So I figured that the hives must certainly be caused by the cancer after I was reported as being cancer-free after my last treatment. Unfortunately, the hives are back. They showed back up almost exactly 1 month after stopping chemo. I still don't know their root cause, but as always, they get worse whenever I'm hot (like outside mowing grass or exercising) and/or they get worse during my menstrual cycle. I am going to see how radiation goes, but if after 21 rounds of radiation I'm still breaking out with hives then I'm going back to my general doctor to see if he can run more tests. I hate living with them. They itch and become painful.

I know I've been a lot of trouble begging you all for prayer requests, but if you could please pray for me to stay cancer-free and pray that my hives disappear once and for all OR that I find the cause of them I would appreciate it sooo, soo much!