What a Christmas!!!



My 2 daughters, Erin and Lindsay, her husband Michael, their daughter Marisa and my former husband Tom and his wife Teri were all here for the long weekend. The East coast bunch all came in on Thurs afternoon and Tom and Teri arrived Fri morning from UT. Thurs nite, after we got home from the airport, there was Tracy's famous chili in the crockpot. We sat down to enjoy that. Had some good conversation. I showed them my quilt that I had started.



I was up early with Marisa. She was in her usual pleasant morning mood. Keeping herself busy after her morning bottle. Toys all over the floor, TV on to Blue's clues, and she was buzzing around totally enjoying herself. She is babbling away. She had some breakfast. Banana and cheerios. I tried the oatmeal. She didn't go for that.



Later that morning, we were expecting Tom and Teri to arrive around 9 am. He called Erin on her cell phone. I had left a message on his that Tracy would be there to pick him up and to call his number and let him know which curb he was on. Well, wouldn't you know, my cell was in the car. I missed his call. That's why he called Erin. So I called Tracy, and he had hooked up with him by then!! The best laid plans!! So they finally got there. We did our Christmas presents. Of course, Marisa went first. She got a bunch of toys, clothes and books and the Swarovski ornament (collection)I started for her last year.

The girls were very thoughtful this year. They had a bunch of pictures made up into a frame and Lindsay wrote a poem about Martha's Vineyard and their weekends and/or vacations there.

That chapter closed in the fall. Last party there was Teri's 50th birthday party.



For me, they got a Pandora bracelet with 5 charms. Each one had a significance. Birthstones- peridot and tourmaline, angel, murano glass and a mother of pearl heart ball. It is beautiful!! For Tracy, they got an Ipod. Something he probably would never have gotten for himself, but totally is enjoying!! He downloads music on to it each night after he gets home from work.



I had gotten Lindsay a love knot to put on her's. I had been getting emotional about giving it to her. Who knew they would be thinking along the same vein!! Like mother like daughter's. We all really like jewelry. I bought Erin a silver beaded necklace. She has the bracelet from Tiffany's she got from Lindsay as a gift from being her Maid of Honor. It sort of matchs that. Simple elegance.



So, I cooked up some breakfast and off to the park we went went with Marisa to the swings.

She LOVES to swing. She tried some of the other equipment too. Grandpa was introducing Marisa to the slide. (Michael was watching but not saying anything) She was having so much fun. Walking up the slide, then turning around and going down the corkscrew type slide. There was another one there she liked too. (Marisa tends to be fearless, so she doesn't recognize the consequences.) Michael wants her to learn the consequences of her actions. (like walking in front of the swings when someone is on them)

We hung out there for awhile and had a bunch of fun with her. Took some pictures of everyone.

I made chicken parmesan and ravioli for Christmas dinner. A little too much multitasking for me!! Teri jumped in to help. She enjoys being in the kitchen.

At dinner, I offered my thanks to everyone for coming this year and for all their thoughts and prayers and how I was overwhelmed at the support I have had from my family and friends. This indeed was another thing on my bucket list.

After dinner, I wanted to see the lights at the Mesa Mormon Temple. We had been in Mesa for 3 Christmas' and still hadn't made the effort to see the lights at Christmas. So we drove the few blocks over to see the lights. They were spectacular! It was like being at DisneyWorld. There was a Christmas concert going on as well. People were milling around enjoying the atmosphere.

We got back to the house and had dessert and some more wine. Tom and Teri took Tracy's car to the Travel lodge where they were staying. They would be back the next day.

Saturday, we decided to go to the bead store in Tempe after breakfast. Marisa was still napping, and it wasn't a place for her to be. So, we would meet up with them to exchange the slippers I had gotten Michael at Dillards. At the Mall, there was a Carousel we wanted to have Marisa go on. Tom had already purchased the tokens by the time we got there. She wasn't sure about it at first. Then it started to move. She had a bit of a panic look about her, but was doing ok. We weren't sure if it was because she was with Grandpa, or because it was something new. So she tried it with her Daddy, and had the same reaction. Oh well!


Then, we were hungry again, so we went to find some food. Found a Souper Salad and had lunch there. Soup was good.

I put a pork butt in the crock pot and it was smelling awesome by the time we got home. Just needed put the rest together.

It was a big hit!! Everyone enjoyed it. We got the photos albums and loose pictures out. The kids and Tom enjoyed them. Brought back some good memories.

Sunday, we went to the Phoenix Zoo. Saw some awesome animals. I love the giraffes. There were 4 there this time. They amaze me.

Tracy took Tom and Teri to the airport and I went with Erin, Lindsay and Michael and Marisa on a little tour. We did the road up on Camelback to see the view and the houses up there, and then looked for some ice cream. We wanted a milk shake. Found an ice cream shop in Scottsdale. Headed home after that.

Sunday night, Erin hooked up with her friend Claudette in Glendale and we went out for pizza. (Probably not the best idea). Sunday night, the packing started to get ready for the trip home the next day.

I spent all the early mornings with Marisa playing with her until Mom or Dad got up. It was such a delight. Lindsay and Michael had gotten us recordable photo frame that is motion sensitive. She captured one of Marisa's audio's when she was playing. I comes on everytime the kitchen light goes out. It's like she's still here!! I love it.

Mon morning, we dropped them off at the airport and said our goodbyes for now. I will be back for a visit in the spring.

That following Wed., I had a huge let down and cried on and off all day. It was horrible.

My plan is to see Marisa at least quarterly this year, now that she is getting older.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I went to visit my daughters, son-in-law and granddaughter in Boston, as well as my HS buddies.
I flew on Thanksgiving morning. Up to Salt Lake, then to Boston. I had the whole 3 seats to myself going to Boston. How nice was that! I have been a bit concerned about the Swine flu and traveling. I was prepared with a mask and hand sanitizer. I was on chemo that week. Got there uneventfully and was picked up by my son-in-law with my grandaughter in the back seat. She had just woken up from a nap and was in a playful mood.

When we got to the house, my daughters were in the last 30 minute preparation for the Thanksgiving meal. The table was set beautifully.

I was finally able to meet Greg, my daughter's boyfriend. He was doing the dishes. Prior to that, I had only met him via Skype. We all sat down and Michael said Grace and we toasted. I was happy to be there this year. The food was awesome. Traditional Thankgiving meal. They have even rememberd that I like fresh cranberries and made them for me. They like the jelly out of the can.

We talked around the table. Greg was in the middle of a problem at his apt, trying to get his electricity fixed. The fuse kept blowing at one outlet and the ceiling had a large crack in it.
He'd been calling the landlord, but not having much success. They were headed CT on Fri. so he could make his family a Thanksgiving meal on Sat.

My daughter was hell bent on going out to shop at midnight on Black Friday. I asked why she felt she needed to do that and fall into the marketing trap. She thought there would be some good deals. I explained that they were just trying to get her portion of some $$. So, she stayed home and went to sleep instead!!

Friday, we went to Old Navy. It was crowed, but not packed. The store opened at 3 am with a line outside since 2 am. We stayed away from the mall. Too crazy!! Later that day, Michael realized he bought the spanish version of Scrabble, so we went to return it. He told us to circle the parking lot and he would be right out. My daughter instead, parked in the parking lot and waited for him to call her saying he was ready. We sat there a while, (30 minutes or so) and she decided to call him to see what the problem was. No answer. So we drove up to the store and saw him standing there. OOPS. He didn't have his phone with him and he was waiting all that time. It only took him about 10 minutes to get the whole thing done!!

We watched UP and has some fresh popcorn (made on the stove) with real butter on it. Yummy.

Saturday, my friend Diane picked me up and we drove into Boston. Met up with Donna and Barbara at the hotel. They had already started drinking!! Then Holly showed up from Maine with the food she'd brought. Got that all unloaded and got settled in the room. We hung out in the room for the afternoon, shared stories and got caught up, laughed, ate lobster that she brought and had cosmos. (I wasn't drinking- too soon after the chemo)

I was wracking my brain trying to think of something to bring to my friends to express my gratitude for all they have done for me. On my way back from Denver, ( I brought my mother back to my brother's house. He had been in Germany judging at a harmonica convention), I was looking at the Skymall catalog and found this silver pin with 5 friends. I thought how perfect was that. So, when I got home, I ordered 5 and had them shipped to my daughter's in Boston. I wrote them each a note to say thank them for all they had done. We put them on and wore them all weeked. They loved them too! Diane brought back gifts from her trip to China, and Donna brought back loose gems from the cruise she had been on and a high heel cake/pie server!!

That night, we went to the North End for dinner. Something I have always wanted to do. We walked around a little in the North End before dinner and took in the smells and went to Mike's pastry for dessert. It was packed!! Every man/ woman for themselves!!

We had a nice dinner, some good conversation and thoroughly enjoyed each other. Then, this big group came in and were very noisy!! That was it. Time to go. We walked back to the hotel. We went to Barbara and Keith's residence (attached to the hotel and hung out there for a bit. Diane needed to refrigerate the remainder of her meal.) They drank some champagne, and told more stories. We laughed some more. Holly hadn't heard them, so Donna shared them with her. They were just as funny to hear them again.

We went back to the room and ate the canoli's we had purchased. They were excellent!!

Sunday morning, Donna orders coffee for room service. The waiter brings it up shortly there after. Donna answered the door and in he comes. There was only the king size bed that Donna and I had shared. I'm sitting there without my wig on and smiling, thanking him for the coffee delivery. It occurred to me that he may have thought we were lesbians!!! Donna signed Barbara's name for the bill. (she was paying the tab at the hotel). Then, we thought about how a story may come out about Barbara and what she does when she is out of town without Keith!!!
The cream was just beginning to go bad, so Donna called down and had another coffee service delivered. The delivery person said there were other people who had the same problem. No problem.

Can you imagine what the people who deliver the room service see?? They could probably write a good book!

Sunday, we went to brunch at Joe's bar and grill. Eating again!!! Had a nice brunch there and walked back to the hotel along the waterfront and stopped for some pictures.

Sunday afternoon, we hung out in the room again and planned a dinner out with our family members who were near. My daughter and Greg came in and Barbara's daughter Casey and husband Keith came too. My grandaughter was still running a temp, so they thought it best to keep her home. Greg shared the rest of his apt story. The workmen had come in and started to rip down the ceiling. Sheet rock dust over everything. They had taken down the plastic over the doors to stop the dust from getting into the other rooms. He was a little perturbed. We told him to hire a cleaning service and take pictures and send the landlord the bill. After dinner, Diane and Donna left. Diane took Donna to her brother and sister-in-law's and Diane went home.

Barbara, Holly and I met for breakfast in the dining room at the hotel. Holly took me to the airport and then drove back to Maine.

What a delightful weekend!! Loved every minute of it. I had been looking forward to it for awhile. We thought about doing it again in the spring. Maybe a house boat trip to Lake Havasu!!

I was sitting at Logan, waiting for my flight. There was this woman, probably in her 50's or so, sitting kitty corner across from me reading a book. Then she decides to start picking her nose, and then eating it!! GROSS. I felt like I was being punk'd. There were people there who had some nice deep, wet coughs going on. UGH! It sounded like a TB ward.

I had never flown Midwest airlines. They actually serve warm chocolate chip cookies on their flights. What a treat. The middle seat was again not filled, so I didn't feel packed like a sardine on the way home.

My husband met me at the airport and we went home. He had been invited to his friend, Vera's home for his Thanksgiving dinner, and he Skyped with his family earlier that day. He and Sami also had a nice weekend.

So, now we are looking forward to Christmas. My kids and former husband and his wife are coming here to celebrate!!

























Friday, my grandaughter had a fever and my daughter thought is was because she was teething. Her cuspids were coming in. She wasn't really cranky, just a bit lower on her energy scale. We

I'm done with the 2nd chemo cycle. I decided to start taking the sleeping pills every night just because they make me sleep better and I don't get as fatigued. I also started decadron again to keep my energy up. I am now more motivated. Today, I plan to start my quilt. It's been 4 months since surgery.

Last week, I purchased 2 cranial prostheses (aka wigs). The bangs were too long for me to wear them, so I had to make an appt at the salon I go to for a hair cut and get the bangs cut.

I had been to a birthday party the weekend before. One of my friends was taking pictures as usual. I was looking at myself with a widened scarf to cover the bald spot in the front. Not looking too good. So, on Saturday, I went to the salon with my wigs and told Cynthia it was time to cut it off.

She cut the first piece off in the back, and I started to cry (again!). I didn't realize it was going to be this hard. She offered her support graciously. I composed myself and told her to keep going.

The gal sitting next to me asked me about my wigs. Were they long or short? I told her about them how they were highlighted which was something new for me. She asked me if I had breast cancer. I told her no, it was brain cancer. The bald areas were from the radiation. I apologized to her if I made her uncomfortable. She said no problem, she was empathizing. I asked her if she was a nurse, and she said she was the Director of Nurses at Banner Gateway. She was working on getting MD Anderson here in AZ. I asked her how she got them here. She just went to talk to them and that's how it all got started. There is no cancer treatment and research in this part of the valley. The need is far greater than what is here apparantly. They will be breaking ground this December. She is dedicating the next decade of her life to this.

There are no accidents!!

An Amazing Day!

My friends and their husband's were kind and generous to purchase a gift certificate for a helicopter flight at the Grand Canyon. It was on my bucket list!!

We left after a half day of work on Friday and headed north to Flagstaff. We stayed there for the night. We were at dinner on Friday night, when all of the sudden, the reality of why we were even there came roaring into my thoughts. I started to cry. It was one of these moments that come from time to time. They just happen. I had been looking forward to this weekend for some time. I knew why I was there, but it was yet another reminder of my diagnosis. I already see it every day with my bald spot in the front and side of my head. Whew!

My husband asked me why I was crying, and I just shook my head. I couldn't talk about it right then and there. I composed myself and we each ordered a piece of pie to go. We'd eat it later.

We watched the Yankees play the Angels in the first game of the ALCS. They won. It was also during the playoffs that my first daughter was born 31 years ago!)

The next day, we were up early to continue the trip to the Grand Canyon. It was a bright, beautiful and cool October morning. We got to the airport in plenty of time. We checked in at the desk, and were told to go to another area just down the road. My gift certificate was upgraded to the "better helicopter". I thought, only Barbara would choose that!!

So, we waited until it was our turn. There were alot of other people speaking foreign languages. It was a busy place. A constant stream of 6 people in a group to take the ride. I was in the back by the window!! Yippee. We lifted off and away we went. We traveled over the pines for a bit, parallel to the canyon. Then we turned left and headed towards the giant crack in the Earth. Over the edge we went, and it was awesomely spectacular!! Oh my God. We had been there before a few years back, so we knew what to expect (sort of). It is truly an awesome sight! My pictures do not do it justice, but they are my memory of the day.

It's amazing how the landscape is different. We left in the pines and went to where it was barren, crossed over to the north side and it was even different there. It looked like a fire or flood had overcome that area. The trees were toothpicks on the ground. Then we went back in to cross over to the south rim. The colors were unbelievable in the sun. The Colorado river was at the bottom continuing to "do it's thing". There were other areas you could see that had water running in them at some point. But it was now dry there. What a wonderful trip!! I wondered if the pilot ever got tired of the view!

I have always thought you get the best view from above.

I got some good news yesterday at the Doc's office. My tumor is responding to the chemo/radiation. Next step is to go to a higher dose for 5 days a month. Start on Monday.

Still feeling good. Occasional problem with sleep still, but I have the sleeping pill to rely on if I need to. Good sleep is a very good thing!!!

I plan to start on the quilt soon. I am still getting fabric pieces. Got my painting all done. Looks great!!

It's been a long week. I've been fatigued. Weaned off the decadron and there went the energy level!!